CityLab | Aria Bendixhttps://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/2017-02-24T16:31:54-05:00Copyright 2018 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved.<p dir="ltr"><span>Last week, the Senate confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt’s nomination was controversial for any number of reasons, the most prominent being his repeated attempts to sue the very organization he now runs. </span></p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/06/7-infrastructure-myths-espoused-by-donald-trump/486605/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/06/Trump_myths/lead_large.jpg?1466088630"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/06/7-infrastructure-myths-espoused-by-donald-trump/486605/?utm_source=feed">7 Infrastructure Myths Perpetuated by Donald Trump</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/06/7-infrastructure-myths-espoused-by-donald-trump/486605/?utm_source=feed">Trump claims to be one of the best “builders” in the U.S.—but there’s a lot he doesn’t seem to understand about urban planning.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p dir="ltr"><span>According to </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/scott-pruitt-environmental-protection-agency.html"><span>thousands of emails obtained</span></a><span> by </span><em><span>The New York Times</span></em><span>, Pruitt’s battles with the EPA were likely influenced by close ties to major oil and gas producers. On Wednesday, the </span><em><span>Times</span></em><span> reported that Pruitt received draft letters from energy companies to send to federal regulators and participated in meetings to contest the EPA under the Obama administration. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>But there’s reason to believe that these industry ties may run even deeper. In a recent hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Pruitt appeared unconvinced about the dangers of asbestos, a deadly material </span><a href="http://www.coshnetwork.org/occupational-asbestos-exposure"><span>often found</span></a><span> in chemical plants, oil refineries, and electric power plants.</span><span> In addition, prominent law firms that were linked to Pruitt by the </span><em><span>Times</span></em><span> have defended major corporations against asbestos litigation. </span></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span>What’s the risk?</span></h3><p dir="ltr"><span>After being </span><a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6d95005c-bd1a-4779-af7e-be831db6866a/scott-pruitt-qfr-responses-01.18.2017.pdf"><span>informed</span></a><span> by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey that asbestos was responsible for the deaths of nearly 63,000 Americans from 1999 to 2014, Pruitt responded: “Asbestos has been identified by the EPA as a high-priority chemical that requires a risk evaluation… Prejudging the outcome of that risk evaluation process would not be appropriate.”</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>During the same confirmation hearing, Pruitt also admitted that he had “not reviewed the scientific studies correlating blood lead levels to impacts in children,” and indicated that he did not know if a </span><a href="http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/07/why-lead-paint-still-haunts-industrial-cities-in-the-us/493397/?utm_source=feed"><span>safe level of lead</span></a><span> existed. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration uphold that there is no </span><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/acclpp/blood_lead_levels.htm"><span>safe level of lead</span></a><span> or </span><a href="https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/#4"><span>asbestos exposure</span></a><span>. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Bruce Armstrong, emeritus professor at the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, </span><span>maintains that </span><span>asbestos is “absolutely” an environmental hazard. The World Health Organization has even </span><a href="http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/chrysotile_asbestos_summary.pdf"><span>dubbed the material</span></a><span> “one of the most important occupational carcinogens.”</span></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span>A fatal environmental hazard</span></h3><p dir="ltr"><span>While asbestos is often associated with a period following World War II when the cheap, flexible, and fire-resistant material was widely used for commercial construction, it continues to take the lives of </span><a href="http://www.asbestosnation.org/facts/asbestos-kills-12000-15000-people-per-year-in-the-u-s/"><span>an estimated</span></a><span> 12,000 to 15,000 Americans each year. In general, exposure to asbestos can lead to three major diseases: asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. The latter of these three, which has a life expectancy of 12 to 21 months, can result from relatively </span><a href="https://survivingmesothelioma.com/even-minimal-asbestos-exposure-may-trigger-mesothelioma-in-people-with-gene-mutation/"><span>minimal exposure</span></a><span>.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Although asbestos is widespread in the environment, most people are exposed by breathing in particles through the air. This can occur in </span><span>buildings, schools, or homes with </span><span>deteriorating cement, drywall, roof shingles, or ceiling and floor tiles that were manufactured using the carcinogen. Since around half the schools in the U.S. were built between 1950 and 1969, the EPA </span><a href="https://www.asbestos.com/asbestos/schools/"><span>estimates</span></a><span> that asbestos can be found in around 132,000 of the country’s primary and secondary schools.</span><span> </span></p><p><span>According to a 2001 </span><a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=28&amp;tid=4"><span>report</span></a><span> from </span><span>the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,</span><span> the level of asbestos in the air in cities is around 10 times higher than in rural areas. From 1948 to 1993, around 5.8 million tons of asbestos-containing material were shipped to 208 cities across the U.S., with some of the </span><a href="http://www.ewg.org/research/maps/cities-received-asbestos-shipments"><span>largest shipments</span></a><span> ending up in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Chicago.</span></p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/09/Peter_Morgan/lead_large.jpg?1441383452"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed">14 Years Later, Here's What We Know About 9/11 and Cancer</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed">The link has become increasingly clear—just as victim funding is set to expire.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p dir="ltr"><span>Asbestos also remains a concern for 9/11 survivors and first responders in New York City. In 2015, Dr. Raja Flores, chief of thoracic surgery at </span><a href="http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/occupational-health/world-trade-center-health-program"><span>Mount Sinai Medical Center</span></a><span>, told CityLab that he anticipated a sharp rise in 9/11-related cancers over the next 30 years, due in large part to the </span><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wtc.pdf"><span>300 to 400 tons of asbestos fibers</span></a><span> that were used to construct the World Trade Center.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Last December, the EPA designated asbestos as a top 10 chemical for review and regulation under statutory law. Nevertheless, the United States remains one of the few industrialized countries without a comprehensive ban. A</span><span>lthough the EPA attempted to ban most asbestos-containing products in 1989, the majority of this ban—including the</span><span> commercial manufacturing, importation, processing, and distribution of asbestos-containing products—was overturned in 1991. Under existing legislation, only “new uses” of asbestos</span><span>—or products that did not historically contain the material—are prohibited. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Although the scientific link between asbestos and fatal diseases was confirmed by the late 1970s, those with chemical or manufacturing ties still question its hazardous properties. Over the years, the asbestos industry has channeled millions of dollars into </span><a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-015-0035-6"><span>independent research</span></a><span> that contradicts established scientific claims. </span></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span>The price of a life</span></h3><p dir="ltr"><span>When her husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2003, Linda Reinstein, the co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, says she felt deceived by her country. Like many, she never imagined that her husband, a businessman who wore a suit and tie to work each day, would contract a disease from a few brief encounters with what she assumed was a banned substance. Upon researching mesothelioma and advocating for anti-asbestos legislation in Washington, D.C., Reinstein soon realized that she was dealing with a massive “corporate cover-up."</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>In recent years, Reinstein has been an advocate for reforming the 40-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to include a law signed this past summer, which institutes harsher crackdowns on asbestos regulation in schools, as well as public and commercial buildings. Per the </span><a href="http://www.lautenbergchemicalsafetyact.com/"><span>Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act</span></a><span>, only health and environmental factors can be used to determine asbestos regulation. The law also instructs the EPA to identify disproportionately susceptible or highly exposed populations, which comes as welcome news to cities and industrial areas. The product of a 10-year negotiation with the chemical industry, the law took so long to approve that its namesake, Senator Frank Lautenberg, died before it passed.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Although ADAO’s efforts have received bipartisan support in the past, Reinstein maintains that asbestos issues often seem partisan. She says that “Pruitt could easily instruct the EPA to give [trade associations like the American Chemistry Council] an exemption” to existing regulations, allowing them to “delay and destruct policy until they’re sued.”</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>The American Chemistry Council recently issued </span><a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/Media/PressReleasesTranscripts/ACC-news-releases/ACC-Comments-on-Confirmation-of-New-EPA-Administrator-Scott-Pruitt.html"><span>a statement</span></a><span> congratulating Pruitt on his confirmation. At a conference on Thursday, the organization’s CEO, </span><span>Cal Dooley, reiterated his support for “Administrator Pruitt’s commitment to the best available science under the [Lautenberg Act].”</span><span> Last August, the ACC </span><a href="http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ACC-Chorline.pdf"><span>asked for leniency</span></a><span> under the new EPA regulations, arguing that “because [their] use of asbestos … is confined in the production process, worker exposure risk is essentially eliminated.”</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>As someone with decades of cancer research experience, Armstrong agrees that lower exposure often results in lower risk. Still, he echoes OSHA in saying that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. “</span><span>The mechanism by which asbestos [causes] cancer is there at the initiation stage,” he tells CityLab. “There is no need whatsoever for any country to import or use asbestos.”</span></p><h3 dir="ltr"><span>Industry versus science</span></h3><p dir="ltr"><span>So what does it mean when the new EPA administrator is unwilling to admit to the dangers of a public health hazard? Thanks to the Lautenberg Act, it is unlikely that the U.S. will again become reliant on asbestos-contaminated construction materials. However, without a ban in place, toxic imports continue. In 2007, an </span><a href="http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/archives/364"><span>independent ADAO investigation</span></a><span> discovered asbestos in five consumer products, including a children’s toy. In the year 2015 alone, the U.S. </span><a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/asbestos/mcs-2016-asbes.pdf"><span>legally imported</span></a><span> an estimated 716,000 pounds of asbestos for consumption.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>“[Asbestos removal] is still a priority for us,” says David Rizzolo, the Operations Manager at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “We take it very seriously.” In a city with an abundance of older housing and buildings, Rizzolo estimates that asbestos “will never be gone from our building stock.” Although he expects it could take a while for changes in the EPA to affect his health department, Rizzolo insists that “if you nibble away at federal support for EPA regulations, it could erode support for local air districts [that </span><span>regulate asbestos].” Although asbestos is one of many health hazards plaguing our cities, denying or ignoring its risks could ultimately lead to decreased funding for regulation and removal, as well as major exemptions for chemical, manufacturing, oil, gas, or energy producers. </span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>“Asbestos is big industry,” says the ADAO’s Midwestern Regional Director and </span><a href="https://www.mesothelioma.com/heather/#.WKzHxxIrLaY"><span>mesothelioma survivor</span></a><span> Heather Von St. James. “[Under the new EPA administration,] </span><span>we’re seeing everything that we’ve worked so hard for unravel before our very eyes.”</span><span> </span><span>And yet both she and Reinstein view Pruitt’s confirmation as further motivation to continue their fight for a comprehensive ban. “No one is backing away,” says Reinstein. “We’ve never been stronger as advocates and environmentalists to work on a grassroots level to make sure that [the current laws are] upheld.”</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Indeed, in a battle between science and industry, Reinstein still believes that her team will come out on top. “We have something more powerful than money,” she says. “We have the truth.”</span></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedSusan Walsh/APWhy Deadly Chemicals May Linger in Cities Under the EPA's New Administrator2017-02-24T16:31:00-05:002017-02-24T16:31:54-05:00tag:citylab.com,2017:209-517494<span>Scott Pruitt remains unconvinced of the dangers of asbestos.</span><p>One milligram of dust. That’s <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743583710509">all the lead it takes</a> to poison a child—the equivalent of three granules of sugar. Years before his <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/23/us/baltimore-goodson-verdict-freddie-gray/">death</a>, Freddie Gray was found to have <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/investigations/bs-md-lead-poisoning-gaps-20151213-story.html">35 micrograms of lead</a> in his blood—seven times the amount that can impair brain development, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Though Gray would eventually symbolize a far more visible tragedy, his life also represents that of many young children in Baltimore who have been devastatingly poisoned by lead paint. In fact, lead poisoning has become so common in Baltimore ghettos that local children are often referred to as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/freddie-grays-life-a-study-in-the-sad-effects-of-lead-paint-on-poor-blacks/2015/04/29/0be898e6-eea8-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html">lead kids</a>.”</p><p>For these children, exposure to dust caused by the chipping, flaking, or peeling of lead-based paint poses serious, and sometimes fatal, health risks. Among a host of other issues, lead poisoning can lead to permanent brain damage, which often results in learning disabilities and increased violent behavior. According to the <a href="http://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/">Green &amp; Healthy Homes Initiative</a>, a national organization working to combat lead poisoning, children who have been poisoned are seven times more likely to drop out of school and six times more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system.</p><p>The home where Freddie Gray lived from 1992 to 1996 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/freddie-grays-life-a-study-in-the-sad-effects-of-lead-paint-on-poor-blacks/2015/04/29/0be898e6-eea8-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html">reads like a textbook description</a> of lead infestation. Lead paint chips were strewn about the floor and strips of paint were peeling off the walls and windowsills. Door and window frames are common contributors to lead exposure, since the act of closing a door or opening a window can cause dust to build up and fumes to circulate. Still, only certain homes are at risk. When I ask Ruth Ann Norton, the president and CEO of the Green &amp; Healthy Homes Initiative, why industrial communities are more prone to lead poisoning, she is quick to identify the culprit: age of housing.</p><h3><strong>A “toxic legacy”</strong></h3><p>Though the problem is entirely preventable, lead poisoning is still burdened by what Norton calls a “toxic legacy” dating back to the 1920s, when lead paint reached its peak use in the U.S. In 1951, Baltimore became <a href="http://leadlawsuits.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Long-History.pdf">the first city</a> to ban the use of lead-based paint in homes. But it was not until 1978 that the federal government finally instituted a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family-exposures-lead">nationwide ban</a>.</p><p>The problem was exacerbated in industrial cities during the late 20th century as the manufacturing industry declined and residents began to seek employment elsewhere. It was this period of job loss that compelled cities to ignore health concerns in an effort to hold on to existing residents. “In a city like St. Louis, Baltimore, or Detroit,” Norton says, “there was surplus housing, which became abandoned housing. What [industrial] cities did, which was a big mistake, is they lost their adherence to standards … The fear was that, if they enforced their housing codes, people would abandon their houses and leave.”</p><p>That logic turned out to be backwards. Not only are healthy, lead-free homes cheaper and easier to maintain, Norton says, but they are also more likely to attract investment and improve the safety of a neighborhood. And yet, with many of these contaminated homes still standing, lead poisoning is relatively unshakeable in industrial cities. Although Baltimore has achieved a <a href="http://news.maryland.gov/mde/2015/09/03/lead-poisoning-cases-drop-in-baltimore-and-in-maryland-department-of-the-environment-moves-to-reduce-potential-exposures-in-more-homes/">98 percent reduction</a> in childhood lead poisoning since 1993, there are still <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6213a3.htm">535,000 children</a> between the ages of one and five being poisoned each year in the U.S.</p><p>Lead poisoning is even more endemic to poor black communities, which are less likely to be able to afford newer, lead-free homes than wealthier communities. According to a <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/123/3/e376">2009 study</a>, blood lead levels are highest among black children, who are three times more likely to have highly elevated blood-lead levels than white children. Children from poor families or who live in housing built before 1950 are also at high risk, the study found.</p><h3><strong>Who’s to blame?</strong></h3><p>Even after Freddie Gray’s stepfather Richard Shipley realized that their tenement in Sandtown-Winchester was infested with lead in the ‘90s, there was little that he or his family could do. A lead-paint inspector advised the family to move, Shipley <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/how-companies-make-millions-off-lead-poisoned-poor-blacks/2015/08/25/7460c1de-0d8c-11e5-9726-49d6fa26a8c6_story.html">told <em>The Washington Post</em></a>, but escaping a lead-infested home in Baltimore’s ghettos was like removing oneself from the fabric of the city itself.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/02/37531v/lead_large.jpg?1455055730"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed">The Long, Ugly History of the Politics of Lead Poisoning</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed">Or, why the longest-lasting childhood epidemic in U.S. history wasn’t ever treated like one.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>Although Gray and his siblings <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-freddie-gray-lead-paint-20150423-story.html">filed a lawsuit in 2008</a> and received an undisclosed settlement in 2010, most lead lawsuits are not as successful. In reality, determining who is to blame for the enduring crisis of lead paint in the U.S. is a difficult task. Perhaps the most obvious offenders are the manufacturing companies, although <a href="http://leadlawsuits.wpengine.com/history/litigation-history/">courts have ruled</a> that they are not legally responsible for lead paints produced and installed decades ago.</p><p>Then there are the landlords, who don’t always have residents’ best interests at heart. According to the <a href="http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/library/lead/Title_X.pdf">Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992</a>, sellers and landlords are required to “disclose … the presence of any known lead-based paint, or any known lead-based paint hazards” and allow ten days for the buyer or renter to conduct a lead inspection (the inspection itself is not mandatory). Although he recognizes that not all landlords are irresponsible, David Fukuzawa, the managing director of The Kresge Foundation’s Health and Human Services Programs, says that many landlords “are abusing their position and privilege.” In turn, some tenants refrain from complaining to their landlords for fear of getting evicted, despite the fact that retaliatory eviction is <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/chart-anti-retaliation-statutes-tenants-29668.html">illegal in most states</a>.</p><p>In these cases, many citizens feel that the federal government has a responsibility to step in. “As a country, we need to figure out what it is that we want,” says<strong> </strong>Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen. “If we decide that this is an issue we cannot tolerate any longer, we have to make lead paint abatement a requirement.” Still, Fukuzawa finds that the issue is best tackled on a municipal level. “The solution is going to look a little bit different in every community,” he says. “What it looks like in Detroit is different than what it looks like in south L.A.”</p><p>While approaches may differ from city to city, places like Detroit and Baltimore are excellent examples of municipal governments that have united their communities over a shared concern about lead paint. “Not seeing our residents as problems, but rather as solutions to our problems—that is a big element of why our work [in Baltimore] has been so successful,” Wen tells CityLab. In particular, she notes, Baltimore has excelled at developing public-private partnerships and working toward a common goal of universal lead screening for children ages one and two. Unfortunately, the city’s home investigations are not frequent enough to address many cases of lead poisoning—even in a state like Maryland, which has the <a href="http://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/blog/tenant%E2%80%99s-rights-%E2%80%93-using-maryland%E2%80%99s-laws-create-lead-safe-housing-tenant-families">strongest lead laws</a> in the country. The city also lacks an easily accessible <a href="http://www.leadcare2.com/Clinicians">point-of-care testing system</a> that could simultaneously diagnose and treat lead victims.</p><h3><strong>Limits to funding</strong></h3><p>Another major roadblock to eradicating childhood lead poisoning—particularly in industrial cities—is lack of funding. According to <a href="https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/14065816/SafeAndHealthyHomes-report.pdf" target="_blank">a new report</a> released this month by the Center for American Progress, the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program has been hard hit by budget cuts, in turn limiting the program to 29 states and the District of Columbia. These limitations are concerning, since the CDC has singular access to information about when and where lead poisoning occurs. Without an extensive CDC prevention program, it becomes difficult for major government agencies like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to decide where to allocate funds.</p><p>Just last week, HUD <a href="http://to%2520remove%2520lead%2520from%2520nearly%25203%2C000%2520low-income%2520households/" target="_blank">released $52.6 million in grants</a> to remove lead hazards from over 2,800 low-income households. But even with these grants in place, current funds are not enough to eliminate lead poisoning in the U.S. Nearly two decades ago, President Bill Clinton’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children determined that HUD would require <a href="https://www.apha.org/~/media/files/pdf/advocacy/letters/2016/160317_nshhc_fy17_lead_letter.ashx" target="_blank">a minimum budget of $230 million a year</a> to protect children from lead poisoning. This funding would allow HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to provide additional lead screenings and prevent lead exposure in low-income households and those with children below age six. With this budget, Norton estimates, the U.S. could reasonably expect to end childhood lead poisoning as a major public health problem in five years.</p><p>Even so, not all government officials support efforts to reduce lead poisoning. Last August, Kenneth Holt, Maryland’s Secretary of Housing and Community Development, sparked controversy when he conjectured that mothers might intentionally poison their children with lead in exchange for free housing. While addressing an audience at the Maryland Association of Counties summer convention, Holt <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-lead-liability-20150814-story.html" target="_blank">floated the idea</a> of weakening Maryland’s lead paint laws to prevent residents from taking advantage.</p><p>And yet <a href="http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/117/7/ehp.0800408.pdf" target="_blank">a 2009 study</a> from the Economic Policy Institute found that taxpayers actually receive a $17-$221 return on investment for every dollar invested in controlling lead hazards. The reason is simple: Keeping children safe from lead hazards can prevent future health issues, reduce criminal activity, limit the number of kids who end up in special education programs, and improve individual IQs and lifetime earnings—all of which reduce stress on the economy. “There is no other public health program in the country that has that kind of dollar return,” Norton says.</p><p>But Fukuzawa is careful to note that “we can’t subsidize our way out of this problem.” In all likelihood, permanently eradicating lead poisoning from the U.S. will require the full cooperation of both local communities and national entities.</p><h3><strong>Beyond industrial cities</strong></h3><p>While aging industrial cities are the most vulnerable to lead poisoning, no city is exempt from the hazardous history of lead paint. Even small towns and rural communities are at risk. In addition to major industrial cities, the Green &amp; Healthy Homes Initiative has worked to eliminate lead poisoning in a number of locations nationwide, including southern cities like Austin, San Antonio, and Atlanta and places like Marin County, California.</p><p>And yet, because states monitor the number of children with lead poisoning on a volunteer basis in exchange for CDC funding, not all states have signed up for the challenge. As a result, many citywide lead problems go unnoticed. As of <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/lead-contamination-flint-your-county-cdc" target="_blank">earlier this year</a>, only 26 states had reported recent data on blood lead levels to the CDC, and another 13 states had not reported any data. In<b> </b>Baltimore and beyond, children like Freddie Gray suffer every day from an illness not only lacking in visibility and awareness, but in the information required to make a difference.</p><p>In reality, investing in the reduction of lead poisoning is meaningful on a number of levels. “The poisoning of our children is a health issue, but it’s also a civil justice issue and an economic development issue,” Wen says. “It ties into everything else in our city.”</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedREUTERS/Bryan Woolston The sun sets behind a mural of the late Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Though he would eventually symbolize a far more visible tragedy, his life also represents that of many young children in Baltimore who have been poisoned by lead paint.Why Lead Paint Still Haunts Industrial Cities in the U.S.2016-07-29T11:35:00-04:002016-07-29T11:36:16-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-493397Decades after the federal government banned consumer uses of lead paint, children are still being poisoned in their own homes.<p>Last month, the city of San Francisco approved the nation’s strictest ban on polystyrene to date. The plastic material, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/12/18/you-have-never-actually-used-a-styrofoam-cup-plate-or-takeout-box/">often confused</a> with the trademarked brand Styrofoam, is commonly found in items such as foam coffee cups and clamshells. Although a <a href="http://sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/sfe_zw_foodservicewaste_faq.pdf">2007 ordinance</a> already requires San Francisco food vendors to use recyclable to-go containers instead of polystyrene, the city’s new ban also prohibits products like packing peanuts, egg cartons, and meat trays.</p><p>At first glance, the decision to eliminate polystyrene across San Francisco seems like a no-brainer. The material can take centuries to decompose, clog landfills and waterways, and pose a threat to birds and marine life. It’s also quite expensive for cities like San Francisco to round up each and every discarded cup and clamshell—and even then, many items are <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/04/ask-citylab-can-i-really-not-recycle-a-pizza-box/386755/?utm_source=feed">contaminated with food debris</a>, making them difficult to recycle.</p><p>Although the new ban on polystyrene will undoubtedly force some businesses to transition away from harmful plastics, it does offer a few accommodations. San Francisco grocers, for instance, will receive a six-month waiver to eliminate meat trays made with polystyrene. And some companies will be allowed to ship medications using polystyrene for the next few years.</p><p>The ban is an important step toward helping San Francisco achieve its goal of <a href="http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste">zero waste</a> by 2020. But San Francisco isn’t the only city to recognize the excess of polystyrene clogging its waterways and landfills. The city of Berkeley <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-16/news/mn-6881_1_foam-food-containers">banned foam food containers</a> back in the 1980s, and since then, places like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis have also <a href="http://groundswell.org/map-which-cities-have-banned-plastic-foam/">joined the anti-foam movement</a>. Just last year, New York City <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/01/how-the-war-against-polystyrene-foam-containers-is-being-won/384393/?utm_source=feed">contemplated a similar polystyrene ban</a>, though it was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/nyregion/judge-strikes-down-new-york-citys-ban-on-foam-food-containers.html?_r=0">eventually overturned</a> by a state judge on the grounds that polystyrene was a recyclable material.</p><p>This same argument is now being re-hashed in San Francisco. Although the city’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the new legislation, not all residents are pleased with the result. Organizations like <a href="http://california.gofoam.org/economic-impact/">California GoFoam</a> fear that the ban poses a threat to local businesses. One of the major benefits of polystyrene, after all, is the fact that it’s cheap to purchase, thereby reducing up-front costs for vendors and consumers.</p><p>Others oppose the ban for logistical reasons. In <a href="http://abc7news.com/news/san-francisco-enacts-broad-ban-on-foam-cups-coolers-toys/1420390/">a statement</a> to San Francisco’s ABC 7 News, Walter Reiter, the deputy director and legal counsel for the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Alliance, said that the ban would “do nothing” to hinder polystyrene packaging from entering the city. But according to Conor Johnston, the Chief of Staff for San Francisco Supervisor London Breed, who <a href="http://kron4.com/2016/04/19/san-francisco-supervisor-london-breed-introduces-expansive-ban-on-styrofoam-products/">introduced the ban</a>, the city was up against various legal constraints. “Some things we don’t have the legal control to regulate,” Johnston says, “but there are a lot of [polystyrene] products that won’t come into San Francisco anymore, so [the ban] really does move the needle forward.”</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/06/dear-president-obama-please-ban-plastic-bags/396065/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/06/bagz/lead_large.jpg?1434557711"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/06/dear-president-obama-please-ban-plastic-bags/396065/?utm_source=feed">The Case for Banning Plastic Bags</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/06/dear-president-obama-please-ban-plastic-bags/396065/?utm_source=feed">The administration has moved to ban trans fats. Single-use bags should be next.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>Still others like Tim Shestek, a senior director at the <a href="https://www.americanchemistry.com/">American Chemistry Council</a>, whose membership includes plastic manufacturers, argue that the ban ignores the environmental benefits of polystyrene. “The city is looking at this through a very narrow lens,” Shestek says. “With plastics, you have the ability to transport more with less, and that results in less energy being used and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”</p><p>Breed’s office disagrees. “The only way to get to zero waste is to stop producing the stuff in the first place,” Johnston says. “We met with the EPS Industry Alliance multiple times. I don’t think they can fundamentally rebut the argument that the product they make is harmful to the environment and to the Bay Area.”</p><p>For the ban’s dissenters, there is still time before it is fully implemented in San Francisco. The legislation faces one more vote before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. After that, Mayor Ed Lee has ten days to veto it, approve it, or return it unsigned.</p><p>In the meantime, locals continue to war over whether polystyrene is better off recycled or eliminated altogether. Richard Sachleben, a member of the American Chemical Society’s expert panel, finds logic in both sides. “Even if [polystyrene] were properly handled, it can be challenging to recycle, but it can be done,” he tells CityLab. The biggest issue, Sachleben says, is that people simply aren’t disposing of their waste properly.</p><p>With less polystyrene being sold, there is certainly less chance for pollution. But the reality is that this issue is much bigger than any one city can handle. “The city of San Francisco is a tiny spec on the map of the greater Bay Area,” Sachleben says. “I don’t know if, in the long-term, these kinds of legislative approaches are going to impact the development of replacement materials.” It’s a question many San Franciscans are still struggling to answer.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedAP Photo/Mark LennihanWhere Foam Bans Stand in the Fight for Zero Waste2016-07-14T14:24:00-04:002016-07-14T14:24:26-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-491363San Franciscans are clashing over whether to eliminate foam-based items like packing peanuts and egg cartons, or to recycle them. <p>Buried underneath a slew of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/20/politics/trump-announcement-speech/">contentious policy proposals</a>—including <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/11/politics/donald-trump-deportation-force-debate-immigration/">deporting all undocumented immigrants</a> and <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-statement-on-preventing-muslim-immigration">banning Muslims</a> from entering the U.S.—is a remarkably sound plank of Donald Trump’s campaign: infrastructure reform. In his latest book, the sloppily written and problematically titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crippled-America-Make-Great-Again/dp/1501137964"><em>Crippled America</em></a>, Trump argues that “fixing the country’s infrastructure would be a major priority project” during his potential<strong> </strong>presidency. “When you talk about building,” he writes, “you had better talk about Trump.”</p><p>Let’s grant him this wish and consider the two together. What exactly are Trump’s views on building better cities and improving infrastructure in the U.S.? And how do they stack up against commonly held best practices in urban planning?</p><p>While Trump is right to identify that <a href="http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/">infrastructure is deteriorating in many areas of the U.S.</a>, his data and theories<strong> </strong>miss some major marks. Here are a few confounding infrastructure myths espoused by The Donald:</p><h3>61 percent of U.S. bridges are “in trouble”</h3><figure><img alt="" height="403" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Bridge/18aee3075.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">The Great River Bridge in Mississippi. (Eric Thayer/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>No matter how you spin it, this statistic is just plain wrong. In 2014, the Federal Highway Administration <a href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/no10/defbr14.cfm">identified 61,365 bridges</a> as “structurally deficient,” meaning that they’re in need of significant maintenance or repair. With 610,749 total bridges in the U.S., that means that about 10 percent of the nation’s bridges are actually “in trouble.”</p><p>Even being generous and including the 84,525 bridges that are considered “functionally obsolete” and do not meet current design standards, the new figure still only works out to about 24 percent. What’s more, according to Norman Anderson, the CEO of CG/LA Infrastructure, a strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., some of these run-down bridges are no longer necessary to maintain. “A lot of those bridges you don’t need [to continue operating],” Anderson tells CityLab, citing the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/datacenter/plotting-greater-philadelphias-structurally.html">thousands of structurally deficient bridges</a> in Pennsylvania as an example.</p><p>Most presidential hopefuls <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/opinion/campaign-stops/all-politicians-lie-some-lie-more-than-others.html">mix up their facts</a> at one point or another, but Trump has inflated this bridge statistic on two separate occasions: Once at <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2015/08/factchecking-trumps-press-conference/">an August 25 press conference</a> in Iowa (where he declared that 59 percent of bridges were in trouble) and again at an <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?328732-1/donald-trump-campaign-rally-richmond-virginia">October 14 rally</a> in Richmond, Virginia.</p><h3>Asbestos is an ideal building material</h3><figure><img alt="" height="394" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Asbestos/d946ec86b.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">A sign warns against asbestos exposure as a demolition crew tears down a home in Detroit, Michigan. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>During the mid-1900s, asbestos was a popular material for building and manufacturing because it was cheap, flexible, and fire-resistant. But by the 1970s, it became hard to ignore <a href="http://www.asbestos.com/exposure/">the scientific evidence</a> that asbestos was, in fact, linked to various diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma.</p><p>Decades after this evidence surfaced, Trump wrote his 1997 book <em>The Art of the Comeback</em> that asbestos was “the greatest fire-proofing material ever used,” and went<strong> </strong>so far as to suggest that “the movement against asbestos was led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal.” In 2012, Trump even argued <a href="http://www.twitlonger.com/show/jm9f46">via Twitter</a> that asbestos could have preserved the World Trade Center during the September 11 terrorist attacks:</p><blockquote>
<p>If we didn't remove incredibly powerful fire retardant asbestos [and] replace it with junk that doesn't work, the World Trade Center would never have burned down.</p>
</blockquote><p>Whatever its fire-resistant properties, exposure to asbestos is still responsible for somewhere between <a href="http://www.asbestosnation.org/facts/asbestos-kills-12000-15000-people-per-year-in-the-u-s/">12,000 and 15,000 deaths each year</a> in the U.S. More troubling still is the fact that the U.S. government continues to ignore the extent of asbestos-related health risks. Although the EPA tried to ban most asbestos-containing products back in 1989, the majority of this ban <a href="https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/us-federal-bans-asbestos">was overturned in 1991</a>. Based on Trump’s past statements, the chances of securing a comprehensive ban during his potential presidency seems unlikely.</p><h3>The U.S. can build a border wall</h3><figure><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Border_wall/fbea1a3ac.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Part of an existing wall separating the U.S. and Mexico. (Jorge Duenes/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>Back in March, my colleague Kriston Capps <a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/03/lets-say-trump-wins-would-anyone-design-his-border-wall/472065/?utm_source=feed">thoroughly dissected</a> Trump’s plan to build a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. The major concerns, while perhaps obvious, are worth looking at closely: For one, building a wall as sprawling as the one Trump has proposed (between 30 and 80 feet high and spanning roughly 2,000 miles) would likely cost the U.S. somewhere around <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/trump-wall-mexico-foreign-policy/475581/">$25 billion to build</a> and <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/donald-trumps-immigration-tab-166-billion-121500">$750 million a year to maintain</a>, according to various experts.</p><p>Even if Trump convinced Mexico to recant <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-mexico-idUSKCN0W91WB">its vow</a> not to fund the project, there are a number of ethical limitations: Trump’s proposal may very well violate the code of ethics for many design associations across the U.S., in addition to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. “As with other <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f11c1e1c-0e13-11e5-8ce9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz42Fyj6Do5">controversial border projects</a>, firms that built this wall could be subject to boycotts, blacklists, and lawsuits,” Capps writes. In short, “no one who can build it would, and no one who would build it can.”</p><h3>U.S. roads can be built for a third of the current cost</h3><figure><img alt="" height="388" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Road_construction/a62b71b45.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Road construction in Detroit, Michigan. (Paul Sancya/AP)</figcaption></figure><p>In his <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/06/16/full-text-donald-trump-announces-a-presidential-bid/">presidential-bid announcement</a>, Trump promised that he would rebuild America’s infrastructure “on time, on budget, [and] way below cost.” “I look at the roads being built all over the country,” he said, “and I say I can build those things for one-third.”</p><p>While “one-third” is likely a cursory<strong> </strong><there a="" better="" word="">estimate, it’s also a bit of a stretch. According to Anderson, the biggest expense when building a road or highway is securing permits and approval. “An average highway project takes nine and a half years to get through the permitting and approval process,” he tells CityLab. With a shorter approval process, Anderson estimates that U.S. roads could be built for about half the cost that they are now, but not one third. (These results came from a confidential study that compared the average costs of construction in the U.S. to those in Europe, where Anderson found that nearly all of the additional U.S. costs were related to permitting and approvals.) And there’s still the lingering question of <em>how</em> Trump plans to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/nyregion/after-15-years-in-court-workers-lawsuit-against-trump-faces-yet-another-delay.html?pagewanted=all">cut costs</a>.</there></p><there a="" better="" word=""><h3><strong>The U.S. is doing nothing to fix its crumbling infrastructure</strong></h3>
<figure><strong><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Crumbling_infrastructure/d3db4eb31.jpg" width="620"></strong>
<figcaption class="caption">The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 65 percent of the nation’s roads are in poor condition. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>Again in <em>Crippled America</em>, Trump argues that “our airports, bridges, water tunnels, power grids, rail systems—our nation’s entire infrastructure is crumbling, and we aren’t doing anything about it.” In fact, the U.S. spent <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/49910-Infrastructure.pdf">$416 billion on infrastructure</a> in 2014 alone. And just last year, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/a-major-infrastructure-bill-clears-congress/418827/">Congress passed</a> the largest transportation package in over a decade.</p>
<p>At a December GOP debate, Trump hinted at how much he thinks the government should be shelling out:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In my opinion, we've spent $4 trillion trying to topple various people. If we could've spent that $4 trillion in the United States to fix our roads, our bridges, and all of the other problems—our airports and all of the other problems we've had—we would've been a lot better off.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although $4 trillion may sound excessive compared the more conservative infrastructure plans of both <a href="http://feelthebern.org/bernie-sanders-on-infrastructure/">Bernie Sanders</a> and <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/11/30/clinton-infrastructure-plan-builds-tomorrows-economy-today/">Hillary Clinton</a>, Anderson says this number is close to his own estimate for four-year infrastructure spending. Where Trump seems to go wrong is by placing the onus on the federal government—even if he plans to cut spending elsewhere.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of different places where you can get additional funding for infrastructure that has nothing to do with raising taxes, but really has a lot to do with optimizing and increasing the public sector’s oversight and strategic role,” Anderson says. In <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2016-03-15/ask-an-economist-is-americas-infrastructure-destined-to-crumble">an interview with U.S. News</a>, Robert Puentes, the director of the Metropolitan Infrastructure Initiative at the Brookings Institution, makes a similar argument:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think because we generalize the conversation around infrastructure, we tend to overemphasize what the federal government should be doing and the federal role. In reality, the federal government has a big regulatory role in a lot of ways. But when it comes to overall spending and impact, it's relatively small. … We've seen what happens when you have the federal government directing a lot of these projects. It doesn't always work.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The real problem isn’t that America is doing nothing to fix its infrastructure; it’s that it’s not spending wisely. Instead of floating large sums around, Trump should be focused on strategic spending that involves key players from both the private and public sectors—an important nuance that often evades <doesnt factor="" into="">his promises of a “trillion-dollar” plan.</doesnt></p>
<doesnt factor="" into=""><h3><strong><strong>Nothing stimulates the economy more than construction</strong></strong></h3>
<figure><strong><strong><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Trump_construction/f0fe7429c.jpg" width="620"></strong></strong>
<figcaption class="caption">Trump tours the construction site of his forthcoming Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>Yet another problem with Trump’s somewhat nebulous infrastructure plan is the philosophy behind it. In <em>Crippled America</em>, he argues that “there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that stimulates the economy better than construction.” Recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce <a href="http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/gdp_state/gsp_newsrelease.htm">suggests</a> that this is not currently the case. According to their calculations, professional, scientific, and technical services were the largest contributors to economic growth in 2014. During this time, the industry grew a total of 4.2 percent and contributed .29 percentage points to U.S. GDP growth. Meanwhile, real estate only grew by 1.5 percent (a decline from the previous year) and contributed .20 percentage points to GDP growth.</p>
<p>Still, Trump does have a point, at least on this matter. “What I call strategic infrastructure investment is actually the only way that we restart and re-found our economic prosperity,” Anderson says. The problem, he argues, is that stimulating the economy is difficult to achieve with “non-transformational” projects that don’t involve technology or innovation.</p>
<p>Indeed, as CityLab’s Richard Florida points out, <a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/06/the-problem-of-urbanization-without-economic-growth/395648/?utm_source=feed">not all construction leads to economic growth</a>; the <a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2016/01/skyscrapers-cities-tall-buildings/431655/?utm_source=feed">type of construction</a> and the spatial distribution of our cities and suburbs matter as well. “The ultimate [economic] goal,” Florida writes, “is to achieve the kind of density and mix of building heights that have long fueled urban creativity and powered innovation.” If Trump’s past construction projects are any indication, this kind of thoughtful and innovative planning often escapes his consideration.</p>
<h3><strong><strong>When it comes to buildings, the bigger the better</strong></strong></h3>
<figure><strong><strong><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Trump_Tower/5e27bca38.jpg" width="620"></strong></strong>
<figcaption class="caption">Trump World Tower is the third tallest all-residential building in New York City. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)</figcaption></figure><p>Whether it’s the height of his buildings or the size of his eponymous logo emblazoned on construction signs and city skylines alike, Trump is a fan of the grandiose. Unfortunately, much of his “bigger is better” philosophy seems to serve to boost his ego rather than improve local communities.</p>
<p>The sight of Trump’s name, stretching nearly 2,900 square feet in giant stainless steel, on his Chicago tower <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06-05/news/ct-trump-sign-kamin-met-0606-20140606_1_hollywood-sign-chicago-tower-donald-trump">sparked a fervent backlash</a> from residents and city officials. Mayor Rahm Emanuel referred to it as “<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/17/donald-trump-chicago-rahm-emanuel-sign-ordinance/15783695/">architecturally tasteless</a>.” And in <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lincolnshire/lifestyles/ct-lsr-eric-scott-tl-0709-20150702-story.html">an article</a> for <em>The Chicago Tribune</em>, writer Eric Scott expressed even greater concern:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If Trump's rather un-presidential remark about Mexican-Americans and people from Mexico is considered a hate crime, then shouldn't the T-R-U-M-P sign be considered a symbol of hate and ordered to be taken down?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Trump had a different opinion, <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-06-05/news/ct-trump-sign-kamin-met-0606-20140606_1_hollywood-sign-chicago-tower-donald-trump">telling <em>The Chicago Tribune</em></a> that, “as time passes, it'll be like the Hollywood sign.”</p>
<p>The temptation to endow a Trump architecture project with landmark status is painfully familiar. “You could subscribe to the theory that towers like [the Trump World Tower in New York] are the Empire State Buildings of the 21st century,” Joshua Stein, a commercial real estate lawyer, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/realestate/the-great-race-for-manhattan-air-rights.html?_r=1">told </a><em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/realestate/the-great-race-for-manhattan-air-rights.html?_r=1">The New York Times</a> </em>back in 2013.</p>
<p>But even if these towers have assumed some sort of cultural significance, their sheer size comes at a long-term financial and aesthetic cost. According to <em>The New York Times</em>, in order to build his 72-story-high Trump World Tower, Trump <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/realestate/the-great-race-for-manhattan-air-rights.html?_r=0">hoarded air rights</a> from seven low-rise properties nearby. This permitted his tower to take up all of the allowable density for the entire block, according to <em>The Times</em>, thereby preventing additional construction (which, Trump would argue, is America’s greatest economic stimulus).</p>
<p>While it’s difficult to predict what kind of infrastructure reform Trump would actually implement in office, one thing is clear: In speech and in action, Trump champions a number of fallacies about how our cities can and should work.</p>
</doesnt></there>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedCharles Rex Arbogast/AP7 Infrastructure Myths Perpetuated by Donald Trump2016-06-16T18:18:00-04:002016-06-17T17:14:40-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-486605Trump claims to be one of the best “builders” in the U.S.—but there’s a lot he doesn’t seem to understand about urban planning.<p>A 2015 <a href="http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/04/which-european-cities-are-doing-most-to-improve-air-quality/389339/?utm_source=feed">European clean air ranking</a> gave Amsterdam a “D+” for its sub-par policies to improve air quality. Not only was this a regression from 2012, but Amsterdam now ranks lower than larger European cities, including London and Paris. In fact, a <a href="https://milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/rapporten/meetrapport-2015/view">2015 report</a> from an independent Dutch NGO found that 11 places in Amsterdam exceeded the air pollution limit set by the European Union.</p><p>Although many Amsterdam citizens are well aware of this pollution problem, they may be less aware of how it impacts them directly. “Here in the Netherlands, you hear a lot about our air quality being one of the poorest in Europe, but air pollution is just not visible,” says Joris Lam, a local resident and the founder of <a href="http://treewifi.org/">TreeWiFi</a>, a new initiative that aims to reduce air pollution in the city.</p><p>By designing small birdhouses equipped with sensors to detect the level of pollution in the air, TreeWiFi serves as a visual marker of just how dirty or clean the environment is at a given time. Most importantly, it offers a concrete incentive for residents to remedy poor air quality. When the air quality improves, the birdhouse lights up in green and unlocks complementary wi-fi access. If the air stays polluted, the lights remain red, indicating that wi-fi is not available. </p><figure class="left"><img alt="" height="485" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/08_Prototype_illuminated-2/b6806b75d.jpg" width="300"><figcaption class="credit">Joris Lam / TreeWiFi</figcaption></figure><p>With this incentive system, TreeWiFi offers an alternate approach to clean air initiatives that may “feel sort of restricting to you as a citizen ... like finger-pointing,” Lam says. Instead, he aims “to break through that negative cycle” by rewarding citizens for their environmental efforts.</p><p>Although Amsterdam already measures air quality in select locations, TreeWiFi’s relatively cheap sensors can be placed throughout the city in areas that remain untouched by official measuring stations. Currently, Lam estimates the cost of a single unit to be around 500 euro, although the project is exploring an even more cost-effective version for consumers. </p><p>While the local government can use TreeWiFi’s data to better understand pollution in Amsterdam, citizens can use the corresponding app to do the same. By connecting to the app, locals gain access to tips and tricks for improving air quality in their neighborhood, from organizing car-free Sundays to lowering the average speed limit. According to Lam, the most effective strategy is making the switch to electric vehicles—something that’s <a href="http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/local/about-amsterdam/latest-news/new-subsidies-for-electric-cars">already being subsidized</a> by the city.</p><p>Because TreeWiFi is still in the developmental stages, Lam and his colleagues have only installed one birdhouse near their office, which they test during the day and take down at night. Come September, their team will roll out a definitive model. Their goal is to distribute five units to the neighborhoods with the worst air pollution in Amsterdam, with hopes of one day outfitting every street in the city. </p><p>“Of course, our grand goal is to go global,” Lam says. “[But] this is something we’re doing for the citizens. ... I really want to let the people decide where this should go next.”</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedJoris Lam / TreeWiFiAmsterdam's High-Tech Birdhouses Offer Free Wi-Fi in Exchange for Clean Air2016-06-08T10:52:40-04:002016-06-08T10:52:59-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-485771TreeWiFi rewards citizens for their efforts to combat pollution.<p>While Parisians have long been <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/05/homelessness-paris-france-rough-sleepers-european-captitals">sympathetic to their homeless population</a>, a recent pilot initiative in the 11th arrondissement aims to offer more concrete aid. Founded by local resident Louis-Xavier Leca last November, the <a href="http://www.lecarillon.org/">Le Carillon</a> project—which coincidentally shares a name with the café that was targeted in the devastating terrorist attacks in the city last fall—has partnered with about 70 small businesses in the area to distribute stickers indicating their support of needy Parisians.</p><figure class="right"><img alt="" height="480" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/Charlicot_NEW-1/c52df0a09.jpg" width="332"><figcaption class="credit">Louis-Xavier Leca/Le Carillon</figcaption></figure><p>Each sticker features an icon representing a free service, from a hot meal or glass of water to a haircut or restroom access. At the local market Les poireaux de Marguerite, homeless residents can reheat a dish or make an emergency phone call. And at the tea room/coffee shop Chez toi ou chez moi, they can charge cell phones, use a first aid kit, or send mail for free.</p><p>In a city with a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/01/france-growing-income-inequality-problem-201512311224855101.html">skyrocketing homeless population</a>, this act of charity couldn’t come at a better time. By connecting local shops to underserved residents, Le Carillon helps to foster a much-needed sense of community. Before Le Carillon officially began in November, Leca says, many shopkeepers wanted to help their homeless neighbors, but didn’t know how to reach out. While certain establishments were already opening their doors to the homeless by offering free coffee or restrooms, homeless residents had no way to distinguish between a place that would accept or reject them.</p><p>In the last six months, Le Carillon has been a welcome relief for some<strong> </strong>homeless residents who may feel embarrassed by the act of soliciting food or basic services. Still, others are reticent to participate. “Because it’s a business, and you have to actually push the door to get in, a lot [of homeless residents] are still afraid,” Leca says. In <a href="https://news.vice.com/article/paris-retailers-are-giving-out-free-meals-haircuts-and-toothbrushes-to-the-homeless?utm_source=vicenewsfb">an article for VICE</a>, a local waitress recalled a man who preferred<strong> </strong>to help out at the restaurant in exchange for his food.</p><p>Although Le Carillon welcomes people from all walks of life, participating shops have the right to refuse customers who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. “If they can’t behave, the shopkeepers will tell them to [leave] and come back later,” Leca says.</p><figure class="left"><img alt="" height="480" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/06/.jpg/f91adffb6.jpg" width="360"><figcaption class="credit">Louis-Xavier Leca/Le Carillon</figcaption></figure><p>For the most part, the relationship between local shops and their homeless neighbors is mutual. In fact, Leca says it’s the paying customers who have been particularly encouraging of homeless clientele. Nearby cities and neighborhoods seem to have taken an interest, as well. Already, Leca has been contacted by more than 100 cities in France alone. By September, he hopes to roll out Le Carillon in five more districts in Paris, five cities in France, and perhaps Belgium and London. After that, he says, the goal is to take the initiative overseas to America.</p><p>Until then, Le Carillon can be found where it is needed the most—in a city struggling to overcome the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, all while bridging the divide between its wealthy and less fortunate residents.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedCharles Platiau / ReutersParis Shops Are Marking Their Windows for the Homeless2016-06-01T18:20:00-04:002016-06-01T18:23:12-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-485015The 11th arrondissement&rsquo;s many homeless residents now know where to get a free meal or use the restroom.<p>The sharing economy largely caters to the needs of young, mobile residents. But in crowded cities, where older residents often feel isolated and lonely, there may be an even greater need to accommodate the elderly.</p><p>The soon-to-launch <a href="http://www.freebirdclub.net/">Freebird Club</a> offers a room-sharing service for those over 50. The service closely resembles Airbnb: members rent out their spare rooms for a fixed nightly rate. The goal, according to the company’s founder Peter Mangan, is to form new networks among middle-aged and elderly folks and encourage their continued mobility.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/09/your-next-uber-driver-may-be-a-retiree/407791/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/09/shutterstock_208470187/lead_large.jpg?1443530214"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/09/your-next-uber-driver-may-be-a-retiree/407791/?utm_source=feed">Your Next Uber Driver May Be a Retiree</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/09/your-next-uber-driver-may-be-a-retiree/407791/?utm_source=feed">Contrary to stereotypes, seniors are a natural fit for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.</a></p>
</aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>Inspiration for the club came from Mangan’s father, who helped Mangan rent out his countryside home in county Kerry*. At the time, Mangan’s father was a widower living alone, and instantly connected with the older residents who came to stay at his son’s place. These positive interactions, combined with the <a href="http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/the-high-price-of-loneliness/">existing research on loneliness</a> among older populations, spurred Mangan to develop an initial design. In November, The Freebird Club was one of three concepts to win the European Social Innovation Competition. With a prize of just over $55,000 in tow, the service is set to launch this June in Ireland and the U.K., with hopes to expand to other locations worldwide.</p><p>As of now, The Freebird Club is a<strong> </strong>member-only service, and plans to charge a small, one-time fee to make older adults feel more secure about the process. As an added safety measure, Mangan is working with a cybersecurity expert to vet members and verify their identity. He is also toying with the idea of a buddy system, which would grant family members access to a club member’s profile.</p><p>Although some older citizens may be reticent to partake in such an intimate service, there’s reason to believe that demand for an “Airbnb for the elderly” will only increase with time. A <a href="http://media.mhfi.com/documents/AgingUrbanization_1+15.pdf">January report</a> from the Global Coalition on Aging and the McGraw Hill Financial Global Institute finds that nearly one billion people<strong> </strong>aged 65 and over will be living in developing cities by 2050.</p><p>These older folks<strong> </strong>are far from a burden to urban vitality. “There’s a perception that older people are a bit more vulnerable,” says Mangan. “[But] a lot of older people that I know are quite maverick and adventurous … At this stage in your life, you now have a freedom that you haven’t had in years.”</p><p>In fact, <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/technology/publications/assets/pwc-consumer-intelligence-series-the-sharing-economy.pdf">a 2015 study</a> from PricewaterhouseCoopers found that nearly a quarter of U.S. residents age 55 and older consider themselves “providers” in the sharing economy. What they need now is for the sharing economy to start providing for them.</p><p><em>*<strong>CORRECTION</strong>: This post has been updated to reflect that Mangan's country home is in county Kerry, not Dublin. </em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedREUTERS/Kim Hong-JiThis 'Airbnb for the Elderly' Could Curb Loneliness in Cities2016-05-26T16:16:00-04:002016-05-27T09:54:48-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-484373The Freebird Club hopes to form new networks among isolated older residents.<p>As East Coast cities continue to endure an unending spell of rain, many locals have started to <a href="https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/05/13/sun-explainer-dc-locals/">forget that the sun even exists</a>. But, over in Boston, it seems one group has discovered a silver lining to their cloudy days. Thanks to a partnership between Boston’s City Hall and <a href="http://www.masspoetry.org/">Mass Poetry</a>, a nonprofit that supports the Massachusetts poetry community, the city’s showers are being transformed into a hidden art project.</p><p>The project, appropriately titled “Raining Poetry,” uses biodegradable water-repellent spray to stencil poems on Boston's concrete streets. On a sunny day, the letters remain invisible. But once water hits them, the words of famous poets suddenly reveal themselves to unsuspecting passersby. In Roslindale and Uphams Corner, residents can encounter the untitled poems of Barbara Helfgott Hyett and Gary Duehr. Outside the Hyde Park Library, pedestrians can stumble across “Water” by Elizabeth McKim. And in Dudley Square, the words of Langston Hughes’ “Still Here” cry out from the sidewalk.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/03/this-seattle-street-art-only-appears-when-its-raining/388529/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/03/IMG_1770_e1426442810846/lead_large.jpg?1427225961"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/03/this-seattle-street-art-only-appears-when-its-raining/388529/?utm_source=feed">This Seattle Street Art Only Appears When It's Raining</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/03/this-seattle-street-art-only-appears-when-its-raining/388529/?utm_source=feed">The invisible sidewalk ink puts a positive spin on the gloomy weather.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>The project began on April 1 as a kickoff to National Poetry Month, with four new poems added throughout the city on May 13. Inspiration for the project came from the city’s arts and culture chief, Julie Burros, as well as Michael Ansara, the co-founder of Mass Poetry. The May 13 poems were selected by Boston’s Poet Laureate, <a href="http://www.masspoetry.org/bostonpoetlaureate/">Danielle Legros Georges</a>, and each poem has been installed by a local youth group, the <a href="http://www.publicartboston.com/content/mayors-mural-crew">Mayor's Mural Crew</a>.</p><p>“It was important to have the first poems for this project be somehow connected to Boston,” Georges said in <a href="http://www.masspoetry.org/rainingpoetry/">an interview</a> on the Mass Poetry website. “I wanted to draw work from poets influential in the Boston-area literary, educational, or cultural realms.”</p><p>But Boston isn’t the only city to feature water-activated street graffiti. Back in 2013, the artist Nathan Sharratt used <a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2013/09/you-can-only-see-amazing-invisible-graffiti-when-it-rains/6966/?utm_source=feed">hidden stencils</a> in Atlanta. And last year, CityLab’s Tanvi Misra detailed <a href="http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/03/this-seattle-street-art-only-appears-when-its-raining/388529/?utm_source=feed">a similar project</a> in Seattle.</p><p>Although the biodegradable spray wears off in six to eight weeks, the city of Boston hopes to install additional poems in more diverse areas, and even introduce poems in other languages. “We want to bring poetry to the people,” says Sara Siegel, the program director at Mass Poetry. “This is a fun, quirky way to do that.”</p><p>It’s also a chance to expose Boston residents to the rich history of their city, which was once home to poets like Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, and e. e. cummings. Indeed, what better way to honor Boston’s literary greats than to look to their words as cures for a gloomy day?</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMassPoetry%2Fvideos%2Fvb.209593942392905%2F1192965040722452%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe></p><p><em>H/t <a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-04-19/londoners-freak-out-over-new-tube-escalator-etiquette">A</a><a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bostons-streets-are-covered-in-secret-poems">tlas Obscura</a></em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedMass Poetry Boston's Secret Sidewalk Poems Add Some Cheer to Rainy Days 2016-05-19T18:08:00-04:002016-05-19T18:09:18-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-483512It&rsquo;s the latest city to make something pretty out of dreary weather.<p>Even amid the bustling crowds and vibrant soundscape, life in a city can <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/10/its-time-to-ditch-the-stigma-of-doing-things-alone/410467/?utm_source=feed">feel quite lonely</a>. Past research has <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/feb/25/city-stress-mental-health-rural-kind">discovered a link</a> between urban dwelling, poor mental health, and feelings of isolation, stress, and anxiety. Residents can easily be swept up in the hurried lifestyle that has come to characterize urban living.</p><p>When the actor Vivi Devereaux moved to Los Angeles a year ago from South Africa, he encountered a stark cultural difference. “This city is full of cynics,” he says. “Over here, people are suspect of something that could be free, that could be given for the sake of being given.”</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2016/05/how-writing-down-stories-brings-strangers-together/481068/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/05/StrangersProjectHighRes_22_of_26/4ff39fb1e.jpg"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2016/05/how-writing-down-stories-brings-strangers-together/481068/?utm_source=feed">How Writing Down Stories Brings Strangers Together</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2016/05/how-writing-down-stories-brings-strangers-together/481068/?utm_source=feed">The Strangers Project makes city residents a little more connected, one handwritten page at a time.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>It was during this time that he was introduced to <a href="http://urbanconfessional.org/">Urban Confessional</a>, a social project designed to engage with strangers by lending an ear. Every week, members of the group take to the streets carrying signs that read, “Free Listening.” As they invite people to approach them, their main goal is simple: to listen to anyone who wants to talk without passing judgment or offering advice.</p><p>“The pulse of cities is begging for genuine connection,” says Benjamin Mathes, the program’s founder, who works as an actor, producer, and author in L.A. “Anything that we can do to disrupt the noise and pace of the city, and be a reminder that people matter, that we should slow down and listen to them … I can’t think of a better way to spend the day.”</p><p>Urban Confessional began four years ago in L.A., at a time when Mathes had “hit rock bottom” and was searching for a way to heal and connect with others. In the beginning, the program only consisted of a small group of fellow actors. Now, it has blossomed into a global public service spanning 16 countries, with volunteers in cities like Barcelona, Lima, Sydney, and New York.</p><p>When I spoke to Mathes on the phone, he had just finished “free listening” at a North Hollywood metro station—the first spot that Urban Confessional frequented back in 2012. The area, he says, is rife with dangerous activity—gang violence, prostitution, sex trafficking. In the past, local law enforcement have asked volunteers to exercise caution when offering their listening services. Still, Mathes has identified a need for support in these communities.</p><p>“We’ve had people come to us in all stages of recovery and addiction,” Mathes says. Once, he was approached by a woman who had been abused, kicked out of her home, and sought refuge at a strip club at age 17. When Mathes met her, the woman was working as a prostitute, and the two conversed for about an hour. The following week, the woman returned—not to share her story, but to listen alongside other Urban Confessional volunteers.</p><figure><img alt="" height="414" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/05/Urban_confessional_2/59f7a0341.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="credit">Urban Confessional</figcaption></figure><p>For Mathes, the desire to be heard is universal. “Whether you’re in a city or a small town, whether it’s in America or Peru or South Africa, we carry around the same burdens,” he says.</p><p>Devereaux also finds that “people tend to open up once they realize they’re in a safe place.” Many times, he says, people just want to know that someone is paying attention. Of course, there are those who remain skeptical, and even those who may mistake an Urban Confessional volunteer for someone canvassing or soliciting money.</p><p>“We are mostly a disruption,” says Mathes.<strong> </strong>“We literally disrupt people’s commute, their travel, and their hustle.” But Urban Confessional also encourages urbanites to take some time for themselves, and to recognize that there are many people out there who are willing to hear their story. And that, for Mathes, is the best part.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedUrban ConfessionalIn a Lonely City, This Group Is Here to Listen2016-05-12T17:58:00-04:002016-05-12T18:01:04-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-482538Urban Confessional lends a helping ear to strangers on the street.<p>Residential water pipes are often overlooked as a key component of urban infrastructure, with the ongoing <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/04/flints-hopes-for-economic-development-rest-on-replacing-pipes/477738/?utm_source=feed">Flint water crisis</a> serving as perhaps the most egregious example. One major factor is that cities have been notoriously slow to develop and implement new technology to replace their aging pipe systems. Another, according to a new project by two Carnegie Mellon students, is that these pipes remain hidden from view.</p><p>In a project named the “Most Innovative” by the <a href="https://flux.io/compete/">Flux Emerging Architects Design Competition</a>, students Sophie Nahrmann and Sinan Goral set out to “reverse-engineer” typical building infrastructure. To accomplish this, the pair designed an ecologically friendly boarding school, aptly named the “Ecoschool,” which features pipes on the outside of the buildings as a stark visual reminder of their critical role in urban development. More specifically, the design might prompt urbanites to think concertedly about how much energy and natural resources they are consuming on a daily basis.</p><p>“We wanted to create beautiful and austere environments, but at the same time promote honesty through the pipe networks to show that these systems … can be made beautiful,”Goral tells CityLab. Of course, the Echoschool’s design is also functional: The pipes offer an extensive on-site wastewater-processing system. Water from the pipes can also be used to grow plants indoors, as shown in the rendering below.</p><figure><img alt="" height="262" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/05/ecoschool_interiorperspective/6995c3f74.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">The Ecoschool interior. (Sophie Nahrmann and Sinan Goral)</figcaption></figure><p><span>”</span>With Ecoschool, Sophie and Sinan encourage building occupants, and the architecture industry in general, to think more deeply about wastewater,” Flux co-founder Jen Carlile says in an email. But Nahrmann also tells CityLab that their focus is on “creating a complete network of wastewater processing that integrates itself with the landscape. It’s not just about the pipes, but how they touch the ground and become public space.”</p><p>Both Nahrmann and Goral maintain that the Ecoschool is more than just theoretical architecture. In fact, their model is designed to be located in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, a neighborhood just outside the central business district that has seen a <a href="http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/strip-living-will-more-residents-change-the-strip-districts-historic-landscape/Content?oid=1773968">push for affordable housing</a>. Because the Strip District is interspersed with both commercial real estate and quaint local restaurants and vendors, Goral finds that it’s still “searching for an identity.”</p><p>“From an architectural standpoint, there’s something lacking,” he says. The Ecoschool’s design would help to solve this problem by linking the local community to the more modern, metallic architecture that has infiltrated the district in recent years.</p><figure><img alt="" height="196" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/05/ecoschool_sectionalperspective/0f393cf30.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">A side-angle view of the Ecoschool. (Sophie Nahrmann and Sinan Goral)</figcaption></figure><p>When designing, Nahrmann and Goral also considered the fact that Pittsburgh suffers from <a href="http://www.cleanriverscampaign.org/pittsburghs-wet-weather-problem/">river pollution</a> due to overflows from its <a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2015/12/sanitation-toilet-drinking-water-sewage-system/418878/?utm_source=feed">outdated sewer system</a>. By processing wastewater on site, the Ecoschool could help prevent some of this pollution.</p><p>While their project did not tackle the subject of affordability, Nahrmann and Goral intend for their design to be adaptable to many different structures and locations. Still, they recognize its limitations. “By no means do we want to say that our project is a way to solve a crisis like the one that occurred in Flint,” Goral says. “But, oftentimes, to be able to catalyze change, something drastic needs to happen.”</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedSophie Nahrmann and Sinan GoralTo Make Buildings More Sustainable, Put Water Pipes on the Outside2016-05-10T17:14:00-04:002016-05-10T17:14:35-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-481914A design model from two Carnegie Mellon students couples environmental conservation with a striking aesthetic.<p>Plans are finally being floated to solve <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/flint-water-crisis-democracy-failure/459825/?utm_source=feed">Flint’s water crisis</a>, but the process of rebuilding its broken community is off to a slow start. Throughout Flint, children are suffering from the effects of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/health/flint-lead-exposure-long-term-pain/">lead poisoning</a>, some of which will be long-term. Access to safe, drinkable water is <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/04/flints-hopes-for-economic-development-rest-on-replacing-pipes/477738/?utm_source=feed">still unreliable</a>. Many residents continue to break out in rashes, which <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/25/3763451/flint-emails-rashes/">they have attributed</a> to bathing in toxic tap water. And the city remains mired in a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-michigan-water-idUSKCN0XA2IO">state of emergency</a>.</p><p>As news circulates about the <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/04/why-the-criminal-charges-just-filed-in-flint-are-a-big-deal/479103/?utm_source=feed">legal ramifications</a> of the crisis for state officials, scientists and community advocates are working hard to dig Flint out of despair. One such individual is <a href="https://my.kettering.edu/news/kettering-university-faculty-member-playing-leading-role-helping-flint-solve-water-issues">Laura Sullivan</a>, a mechanical engineering professor at Flint-based Kettering University, and arguably the main link between Flint residents, their local government, and the scientific community. Appointed to multiple <a href="https://my.kettering.edu/news/kettering-university-faculty-member-teaming-wayne-state-researchers-evaluate-water-system-and">committees and task forces</a> dedicated to addressing Flint’s ongoing water issues,<strong> </strong>Sullivan is helping to bridge the divide left behind by a gross <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/01/flint-water-crisis-lead-michigan/424728/?utm_source=feed">violation of human rights</a>.</p><p>Sullivan spoke with CityLab about the precarious state of Flint today, and how residents are working toward a better future for their city.</p><p><strong>You’re a Flint resident, so you’ve had a personal connection to the water crisis from the start. When did you realize that you had to assume a more active role in advocating for the Flint community?</strong></p><p>In the summer of 2014, some students and I were having a conversation about the residents having their water shut off because of failure to pay, so we became involved in looking at water affordability and access to safe water. We started talking to one of the pastors about ways that we could help provide some kind of water for sanitation purposes. When the first notices came out to Flint residents regarding the presence of <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/safewater/chlorination-byproducts.html">disinfection byproduct</a> [which <a href="https://www.cityofflint.com/wp-content/uploads/TTHM-Notification-Final.pdf">violated</a> the Safe Drinking Water Act] in January of 2015, my concerns evolved beyond affordability into issues of quality.</p><p><strong>You’ve been informing the community about the prevalence of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area. Is there a confirmed link between Legionnaires’ and Flint’s water?</strong></p><p>There’s still no defined link. Obviously this is an extremely complicated issue. One complication is that the period of time between being exposed to Legionnaires’ and showing symptoms is over two weeks, so where an individual may have been exposed is sometimes difficult to determine. Over the past two years, in 2014 and 2015, there was a reluctance between state agencies and county agencies to share information about cases, about the conditions, even about where there had been breaks in the water line that may have introduced bacteria. In many cases, while we know that there’s been Legionnaires’ in Flint over the last two years, there’s a lot we don’t know about causation.</p><figure><img alt="" height="399" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Flint_3/6d68e4c68.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Flint workers dig up a street to replace the city’s lead service lines. (Carlos Osorio/AP)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Tell me about your work with <a href="http://www.cooley.edu/news/2016/michigan-gov-snyder-appoints-wmu-cooley-professor-to-flint-water-committee.html">General Michael McDaniel</a> [head of the Flint Action and Sustainability Team] to replace residential lead pipes in Flint. What were Flint residents concerned about during this process?</strong></p><p>I think probably the major concern among residents was, “How long is this going to take, and why do we have to wait?” The initial 30 lead-service-line replacements were funded by [Michigan Governor Rick Snyder], but that was the limit of funds. For the next phase, [Flint Mayor Karen Weaver] has $2 million for about four service lines. General McDaniel and I committed to involving residents in identifying whether or not there might be a lead service line [in their homes]. Once they’ve done that, we invite residents to give us that information through a hotline or online so we can start to collect that information in addition to some incomplete data from the city, and then gather a group of residents to set priorities for which houses should be attended to first, second, and so forth.</p><p>We know that everybody will agree that housing with small children should have a priority, that houses where people have compromised immune systems should have a priority, that houses where previous water testing revealed high levels of lead should have a priority. But the difference here is that residents will come together and set those priorities as a group. If we could replace everybody’s lead service line at the same time, that would be wonderful, but it’s not possible. So we want to try and involve the citizens in establishing that priority.</p><p>My sense is that this is the first real example of the citizens truly defining and participating in the solution to this water crisis. It’s really necessary for the residents of Flint to participate to see that their voice is important and that their participation is critical so that they have a sense of hope.</p><p><strong>We know that there’s mistrust between Flint residents and their government. But do you find that there’s any sort of mistrust between residents and the scientific community?</strong></p><figure class="right"><img alt="" height="286" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Sullivan_Speaking_2/85646202d.jpg" width="300"><figcaption class="caption">Sullivan lectures at Kettering University. (Kettering University)</figcaption></figure><p>If there’s any entity that the residents of Flint trust over any other, it’s their mayor. At the state level, there’s very clear mistrust, and it’s valid based on what we’re learning. Within the scientific community, we have local faculty in the Flint area who are very much participating. Any meeting that I’m present at where they’re involved, the residents have faith and demonstrate confidence in the words of the local faculty and medical community. And, of course, all along we’ve had the team from Virginia Tech who’ve been standing with the community and assisting with citizen science. The voice of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2016/01/26/meet-the-heroic-professor-who-helped-uncover-the-flint-lead-water-crisis/">Marc Edwards</a> [the Virginia Tech professor whose research helped to expose the lead in Flint’s water] is one that is very well-respected by the residents.</p><p><strong>You’re working to curb misinformation circulating among the Flint community.</strong><strong> What are common questions that you receive from residents?</strong></p><p>The type of question that hasn’t really been well-addressed ... is explaining <em>why</em>. Instead of just explaining what [residents] need to do or what needs to happen next, we’re helping them to understand with graphics, booklets, pamphlets, and discussions exactly what happened to the pipes, exactly why it happened, and what it means for how we move forward. [We’re] speaking with residents with an expectation that you don’t need to dumb things down, that they want to be included and not belittled in the process. The EPA on the ground is doing a better and better job every week at engaging the community at that level, and understanding the resilience and determination of residents. It’s not about rushing past the bad things that happened, but explaining why they happened and what their implications are.</p><p><strong>An event of this magnitude is likely to cause divisions among the community. How do you go about unifying Flint residents? And how do you keep them from being exploited?</strong></p><p>[When] I encounter somebody whose motive I don’t know and I see them engaging with the community, I pay a lot of attention to the fear and anger levels among the community members. If I feel like an interaction is only adding to fear and anger, then I have confronted those individuals and publicly or privately questioned their motives. If somebody wants to see the people of Flint working together and working positively, then I don’t believe that fear is going to move us in that direction.</p><p>I was at a town hall [on Tuesday night] that was called by the mayor at one of the churches in the North side of Flint. General McDaniel was present, Mark Durno from the EPA was present, the mayor was present, and I knew that there were members of the community that may have questions, or concerns, or doubts for all of those people. And yet, in that venue, there was a sense of, “Let’s listen, let’s try and collaborate, and let’s not add to the divisiveness.” I see seeds of that forming now.</p><p>Maybe it was the incredible anger and the incredible fear that prevented or delayed the people of Flint from being able to come together in any venue other than a protest. Now they’re coming together in venues of collaboration, of listening, of asking really valid, very pointed questions and getting appropriate and intelligent and accurate answers. So I’m starting to feel very good about that movement toward community.</p><p><strong>What is your relationship with Mayor Weaver like? </strong></p><p>When she was campaigning for mayor, she approached me to provide her with information about how this water distribution system works, what could have caused the corrosion, and what possible solutions there might be. She wanted to be able to speak to the community in an intelligent way. That kind of relationship continues. On a weekly basis, I meet with her for an hour to talk about my sense of what’s going on in the community and ideas that I have on how to involve the community.</p><p>Soon after the mayor named a state of emergency, the governor proposed to come into town with his team to assess the situation from their own angle and make recommendations on their own, and kind of take over rather than empower Flint. [Weaver] asked my advice on the kinds of things that were appropriate for the state to be involved in, and the kind of things that the people of Flint should have more of a role in. We have a very positive relationship. I feel good about the extent to which she asks my advice, and the extent to which I see her committed to the city.</p><figure><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Flint/2478cc262.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Flint resident Laura MacIntyre holding a sample of contaminated water from her home. (Andrew Harnik/AP)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>The governor has called weekly <a href="http://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/EO_2016-1_510480_7.pdf?20160111123409">Inter-Agency Coordination Committee</a> meetings to develop long-term solutions to the crisis. What do you hope to gain at the end of each session? </strong></p><p>It’s safe to say that it’s been painfully slow. There’s an hour-and-a-half meeting every Friday, where there’s very little in the way of progress and deliverables. This is why the work that I’ve done with General McDaniel feels so good, because it’s actual progress. Working with the EPA, Marc Edwards, and the general, we attended a data summit to talk about what next steps we should take, which included a recommendation to the community to open and flush their home plumbing lines and run their faucets for two weeks, five minutes a day. That didn’t come out of this Inter-Agency Coordination Committee. That was an action initiated by the EPA.</p><p><strong>So what <em>does </em>spur action? Is it an EPA mandate, or the release of new scientific research? How do we go from these conversations to replacing the lead pipes?</strong></p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/02/37531v/lead_large.jpg?1455055730"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed">The Long, Ugly History of the Politics of Lead Poisoning</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/02/the-long-ugly-history-of-the-politics-of-lead-poisoning/461871/?utm_source=feed">Or, why the longest-lasting childhood epidemic in U.S. history wasn’t ever treated like one. </a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>Currently, the EPA is in large part overseeing the water distribution and quality in the city of Flint. They’re monitoring it, they’re testing it, but they’re not in place permanently. Fortunately, the EPA has not been impatient. They’ve been very good at providing us with the expertise we need to learn how to attend to some of these issues. As far as water quality goes, we’re moving forward in large part because of the EPA’s advice and recommendations.</p><p>As far as lead-service-line replacement, it’s been the mayor. It really is moving forward because of the mayor’s intention and the rest of us working together to try and make that happen. But it will have to stop once the money that we have runs out. In every way we can, we’re demonstrating that we’re being good stewards with this amount of money, but it’s not going to be enough for all the lead services lines in Flint. We need the assistance of the state and the federal government to complete that work.</p><p><strong>What are the challenges of addressing the water crisis as an advocate rather than as a scientist or researcher?</strong></p><p>I think the biggest challenge is patience. This isn’t a new problem, and it’s been in the ears of the people of Flint longer than any place. It seems so slow to be attended to, and it could be moving a lot faster if we had more support from the governor and the state legislature. When people are angry and frightened, it’s difficult to move toward collaboration. It’s a precarious environment. Tempers will flare. People are tired of waiting. People are tired of worrying about their children’s health. They’re tired of wondering how long this will last. That’s the number one challenge.</p><p><strong>Moving forward, what are the major goals that Flint will need to accomplish in the coming years? How can the community stay involved?</strong></p><p>I don’t think there’s been a time when the community has worked together this well, when the churches of northern Flint have worked so collaboratively with the churches of downtown Flint, when the universities have worked so diligently in trying to attend to the issue. I know there’s never been a time when the students I work with have been more keenly aware of what poverty means, and the responsibility that they have to their fellow citizens. What we have going forward is something that we’ve never had before, and if we can get the support that we need from Congress, the president, our governors, and our state legislature, just for resources to rebuild Flint … we’ve never been more poised to be able to do that. People may be getting tired across the country of hearing about Flint, and I understand that. But until the resources that we need come, we’re going to keep crying.</p><p><em>This interview has been edited and condensed.</em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedMike Householder / AP How Flint Citizens Are Working Together to Save Their Community2016-04-29T12:15:00-04:002016-04-29T12:15:47-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-480390A conversation with Laura Sullivan, a professor and community advocate picking up the pieces as Flint continues to crumble.<p>It’s no secret that, on average, women in the U.S. still earn only <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2016/04/12-gender-pay-gap-equality-and-beyond-sawhill?rssid=LatestFromBrookings">79 percent</a> of what men do each year. So why should they be working the same hours?</p><p>That’s the playful concept behind the <a href="http://www.79percentclock.com/">79% Work Clock</a>, a collaboration between <a href="http://prty.jp/index.html">PARTY</a>, a creative lab based in New York and Tokyo, and MTV’s <a href="http://www.lookdifferent.org/">Look Different</a> campaign to erase hidden biases related to gender, race, or sexual orientation. The clock chimes once 79 percent of the workday is over, reminding women (and their male colleagues) that the wage gap is an ever-present aspect of working life in America.</p><p>The clock’s 79 percent statistic is based on the annual median wage for women working a full-time, year-round, 9-to-5 job. But since the wage gap is even wider for women of color, the clock’s website features <a href="http://www.79percentclock.com/">an online tool</a> that adjusts for race and individual working hours.</p><p>The average U.S. woman working a 9-to-5 job stops getting paid at around 3:20 p.m., according to the calculator. But a Hispanic or Latina woman working the same hours stops getting paid around 1:24 p.m.—nearly halfway through the workday. African-American women stop getting paid around 1:48 p.m., while the average Asian-American woman stops getting paid a little later, around 3:44 p.m.</p><figure><img alt="" height="349" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/mtv_clock_06/68d72edc7.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="credit">Peter Lueders / PARTY</figcaption></figure><p>Aside from race, the wage gap also changes based on <a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/11/theres-not-one-single-gender-pay-gap/414735/?utm_source=feed">additional factors</a> like age, location, and industry. Women in low-income professions, for instance, tend to receive <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/heres-what-the-gender-pay-gap-looks-like-by-income-level/">more equal pay</a> than the national average, as do women in the <a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/11/theres-not-one-single-gender-pay-gap/414735/?utm_source=feed">tech industry</a>. Meanwhile, women in the South are <a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/02/how-gender-inequality-affects-southern-women-the-most/470880/?utm_source=feed">considerably underpaid</a> compared to men. The calculator doesn’t account for these factors.</p><p>As of this writing, the clock has been distributed to influential business leaders, actors, activists, and politicians, many of whom have <a href="https://twitter.com/GloriaSteinem/status/719997147513548800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">featured it</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/shondarhimes/status/720014868217090048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">social media</a>. While the clock serves as a fun visual tool to understand an important subject, it’s more informative than practical. But lest we forget that many working women receive lower salaries than their male colleagues, we need only hear a chime and be reminded.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedPeter Lueders / PARTYYour Newest Reminder of the Wage Gap Is an Alarm Clock2016-04-27T12:14:00-04:002016-04-27T12:19:06-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-479973The 79% Work Clock chimes to alert employees of the persistent pay gap in the U.S.<p>Not all urban planners or city governments agree on what kind of street designs are best. But one thing remains clear: Cities who want to plan for the future must prioritize transit accessibility.</p><p>To aid this process, the National Association of City Transportation Officials has devised a <em><a href="http://nacto.org/transit-street-design-guide/">Transit Street Design Guide</a></em>, which contains insights from 18 different transit agencies, as well as officials and practitioners in 45 North American cities.</p><p>The guide functions as a one-stop shop for designers, city planners, and all those interested in improving the safety and efficiency of their streets. While it serves as more of a toolbox than a prescriptive rule book, here are some of the main takeaways:</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/04/street-design-models/479343/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/04/shutterstock_344955032_1/lead_large.jpg?1461271374"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/04/street-design-models/479343/?utm_source=feed">The Simplest Way to Avoid Bad Street Design: Copy the Ones That Work</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/04/street-design-models/479343/?utm_source=feed">Let’s design more streets like the streets we already love.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p><strong>Separate transit from standard traffic</strong>. Both downtown streets and major corridors have the challenge of accommodating many different modes of transportation. One way to improve safety and efficiency in these high-density areas is to ensure that public transit remains separate from standard traffic. “Transit is often faced with automobile congestion at exactly the time when it needs to be running at the highest frequency and in the most reliable way,” says Matthew Roe, the director of NACTO’s <a href="http://nacto.org/program/designing-cities/">Designing Cities Initiative</a>. “By giving buses and trains their own space on the street, we can make transit work extremely well at exactly the times when people need it the most.”</p><p>To help accomplish this, the guide recommends designating certain lanes as “transit only.” According to Roe, the Bronx’s Webster Avenue, along with many streets in San Francisco, are fitting examples of transit-only lanes that have improved both safety and travel times.</p><p>In those areas where buses and trams already share the street with cars, Roe says there are “a number of other treatments” that can reduce interactions between cars and transit, including boarding islands and in-lane stops. In Seattle, one-lane streets in each direction even allow bicycles to travel behind bus stops, thereby improving bus travel times.</p><figure><img alt="" height="310" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Corridor_after_01_NACTO/fbbef5878.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">“Bus only” lanes. (NACTO)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Don’t forget about pedestrians</strong>. “All across the United States and the world, there are bus systems that run on streets that were not designed to be walkable,” Roe tells CityLab. “It’s critical that, as we strive to increase transit ridership, we examine how these major streets work for pedestrians.” One way to accomplish this, according to the guide, is to increase the number of pedestrian crossings at intersections and shorten the distance between crossings. Along edgefront streets (those that run along waterfronts, parks, or campuses), for instance, there is little to no space for vehicles to cross on one side. This presents an opportunity to install extended transit lanes that separate pedestrians from car traffic, as shown in the image below.</p><figure><img alt="" height="281" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Edgefront_Street_feat_01_NACTO/4bae8a1d3.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Edgefront steet with pedestrian intersections. (NACTO)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Maximize speed and efficiency. </strong>By allowing transit vehicles to pull up within two inches of the platform or side of the street, transit curbs have a huge impact on speed and efficiency. These curbs should be clearly marked, over six inches high, and can be either concave or rectangular (the design standard), according to the guide. If possible, they should also be tapered at the point of entry and exit to minimize boarding time. As an alternative, the guide suggests installing a rubber rail or plastic bumper to allow buses to hug the curb.</p><p>Another important measure for improving efficiency is to include contraflow transit lanes in a city’s design plans. These lanes are designed for streets with one-way traffic, and are typically reserved for bicycles or buses. According to the guide, they allow for shorter travel times by reducing encounters with nearby traffic. A 1999 <a href="http://nacto.org/docs/usdg/first_transit_contra_flow_lane_san_francisco_mirabdal.pdf">study</a> from San Francisco’s Department of Parking and Traffic confirms these findings by looking at the success of the first contraflow bus lane in downtown San Francisco. After examining four intersections at various times of day for an entire month, the authors found that buses along this lane saved up to 8 minutes in travel time after the lane was installed.</p><figure><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Contraflow_Transit_Lane/de5ae6b3d.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Contraflow transit lanes. (NACTO)</figcaption></figure><p><strong style="line-height: 1.52941;">Prioritize design over the mode of transit.</strong><span style="line-height: 1.52941;"> Despite </span><a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/10/hey-streetcar-critics-stop-making-perfect-the-enemy-of-good/380913/?utm_source=feed" style="line-height: 1.52941;">controversies</a><span style="line-height: 1.52941;"> surroundi</span><span>ng </span><span style="line-height: 1.52941;"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2013/05/case-caution-when-it-comes-building-street-cars/5699/?utm_source=feed">recently built</a> streetcar systems, the guide focuses on creating the right designs rather than installing the right form of transit. “Whether it’s a bus or a streetcar or full-scale light rail, what really matters is that transit gets the time and space it needs,” says Roe, noting that the </span>St. Charles Streetcar—<span style="line-height: 1.52941;">the world’s oldest continuously operating streetcar—is an essential part of the New Orleans transit network, and </span><span style="line-height: 1.52941;">still boasts a <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/01/are-streetcars-really-part-transit-network/8206/?utm_source=feed">hefty ridership</a>. </span></p><p><strong>Don’t just design for downtown.</strong> “For a long time, a lot of cities have had transit networks that were designed primarily to give downtown office workers an alternative way to get to work besides taking a car,” Roe says. “[But] when you look at cities like Houston that have<a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/04/how-houstons-bus-network-got-its-groove-back/476784/?utm_source=feed"> redone their bus</a> network to serve all the neighborhoods in the city, sometimes that means doing a grid rather than a hub-and-spoke model focused on downtown. When you do that kind of work and really examine where people are going, you find really large increases in ridership.”</p><p>In addition to downtown areas, neighborhood streets face their own set of obstacles. While these streets only suffer from moderate pedestrian or bicycle traffic, their limited width and capacity make it difficult to accommodate a community’s public transit needs. To address this, the guide recommends improving transit stops to include designated spaces for pick-up and drop-off, and installing “boarding bulbs”—or sidewalk extensions—so that buses can stay in their traffic lane without having to pull up to the curb. The guide also highlights the need for reasonably-priced curbside parking.</p><figure><img alt="" height="310" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Neighorhood_after_01/cf78df37f.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Neighborhood transit stops. (NACTO)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Make streets accessible for all. </strong>Already, the U.S. Access Board outlines <a href="https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards">various requirements</a> for making streets accessible for wheelchair users. And yet Roe still finds that “there has been a significant gap in detailed guidance on how to make bus boarding wheelchair accessible in new configurations of streets.” In addition to the basic standards developed by the Access Board, the guide outlines its own recommendations for designers and city planners.</p><p>“One of the critical things about accessibility is that there a lots of ways to make a bus stop or a rail stop accessible,” Roe says. “When you strive for universal design and make a stop inherently accessible through its design, you can speed up the boarding process for everybody.” A number of cities currently rely on ramps or low-floor or kneeling buses instead of outmoded lifts to provide wheelchair access. These small changes can make all the difference when it comes to speeding up the boarding process.</p><figure><img alt="" height="295" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/COMBO_median_left_boarding_NACTO/e246942e5.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="caption">Center boarding island. (NACTO)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Emphasize sustainability.</strong> Green transitways, or large green areas along or between bus or rail tracks, are a cost-effective way to make an environmental impact, according to the guide. In addition to improving the aesthetics of a neighborhood, these planted areas also help to manage stormwater. One promising example is the <a href="http://trimet.org/pdfs/pm/stations/Station-Area-Fact-Sheets/PMLR_Lincoln_Fact_Sheet_Oct2012.pdf">Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project</a>, which created an “eco-track” to collect stormwater runoff and prevent it from entering the sewer system. Small initiatives like this can make a huge difference for cities today and well into the future.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedNate Roseberry, courtesy of NACTOThe Loop Link design project in Chicago.A One-Stop Guide to Designing the Streets of the Future2016-04-22T11:21:00-04:002016-04-22T11:22:26-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-478326A recently published report by the National Association of City Transportation Officials includes insights from dozens of officials and practitioners across North America.<p>What was once a temporary nuisance for passengers at the Holborn station in London will now become an enduring fixture of their daily commutes for the next six months. Starting this week, Transport for London (TfL) rolled out a six-month trial program that requires passengers to stand on both the right and left sides of the escalator. The program comes on the heels of a successful <a href="http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/01/subway-escalator-standing-study-tfl-london/424950/?utm_source=feed">three-week trial</a> conducted in November, which accommodated nearly 30 percent more passengers by encouraging them to stand on both sides.</p><p>In the days of the initial trial, feedback seemed to be mixed. Passengers were hesitant to follow the standing-only rule, but eventually warmed up to the idea once the third week rolled around. Still, many lamented the fact that they were being denied exercise or the chance to walk. “There was a great deal of non-verbal communication in the form of head-shaking, particularly if the person concerned met the eyes of a member of staff,” said the TfL draft report.</p><p>Interestingly enough, TfL <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/april/six-month-escalator-trial-at-holborn-starts-today">has found</a> that few customers actually walk along the left side of the Holborn escalators, given their considerable length. But those who do are equally, if not more, frustrated with the new six-month trial. A number of passengers took to social media this week to air their grievances about not being allowed to walk up the escalator.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asking British people to stand on the left of an escalator is like asking mice on the tube to wash their hands before eating. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Holborn?src=hash">#Holborn</a></p>
— Ed Snowdon (@LondonSnowman) <a href="https://twitter.com/LondonSnowman/status/722000804727525376">April 18, 2016</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The power walk up the escalators at Holborn was my daily cardio. Don't take it away from me, TFL!</p>
— Rosie Findlay (@fashademic) <a href="https://twitter.com/fashademic/status/722719382061887490">April 20, 2016</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Many continue to ignore the rule entirely, despite footprints on the escalator steps, handprints on the handrails, signs on the floor, and a talking hologram that instructs them to stand.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Me at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Holborn?src=hash">#Holborn</a> station this morning because I'm a loose cannon who won't play by the rules <a href="https://twitter.com/TfL">@TfL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/centralline">@centralline</a> <a href="https://t.co/7sOfCAmSFQ">pic.twitter.com/7sOfCAmSFQ</a></p>
— Matthew Hall (@mwhall25) <a href="https://twitter.com/mwhall25/status/721958895456022528">April 18, 2016</a></blockquote><p>Should these measures fail to convince passengers, there is still the option to use a third “up” escalator that permits walking. But the fact that only one escalator is available for this purpose has angered many Londoners.</p><p>If the previous three-week trial did not predict this reaction, <a href="http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/publications/data/2002-11-01GoutamDutta.pdf">a 2002 study</a> of the London Underground most certainly did. “To move towards a policy of standing on both sides would be unpopular and would penalize those who are most rushed and those who place most value on their time,” the authors concluded.</p><p>Indeed, if the purpose of the six-month trial is to make commutes easier and more enjoyable, it seems that passengers have already made up their minds: Crowding at the foot of the escalator is far better than having to stand the whole way up.</p><p><em>H/T: <a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-04-19/londoners-freak-out-over-new-tube-escalator-etiquette">Condé Nast Traveler</a></em></p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedKevin Coombs/ReutersLondon Underground Riders Aren't Happy With This New Escalator Rule2016-04-20T16:57:00-04:002016-04-20T17:36:08-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-479151For the next six months, passengers at Holborn station will be asked to stand on both sides.<p>Every few years, it becomes more and more expensive to ride the New York City subway. Last year*, the cost of a single ride <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Subway-Fares-New-York-City-Go-Up-MTA-Increase-NYC-297018721.html">increased by 10 percent</a>, from $2.50 to $2.75. For many New Yorkers, this fare hike is a small price to pay for more reliable service and greater speed and efficiency. But it seems the city has forgotten about low-income citizens who depend on the subway to get around, and may not be able to bear the cost of an additional 25 cents per ride.</p><p>A <a href="http://b.3cdn.net/nycss/7169ea001b71493ce9_lvm6b2ptw.pdf">new report</a> from the <a href="http://www.cssny.org/">Community Service Society of New York</a> looks at how to best address this affordability problem for New York’s low-income workers. In a city where public transit is often crucial to mobility, 58 percent of poor New Yorkers rely on the subway and buses as a means of transportation—more so than any other income group. In fact, New York’s low-income workers typically spend more than 10 percent of their family budget on transit, according to the report. While unlimited monthly passes present a more affordable alternative in the long run, most low-income workers have trouble fronting the initial $116.50 each month.</p><p>This leaves many poor residents in a precarious situation as prices go up while their budgets remain the same. The report tells the story of one man who had to make the difficult decision between purchasing a MetroCard or paying his rent, and another who had to walk for over an hour from West Harlem to attend his college courses in the Bronx. Indeed, many residents cannot attend job interviews, pick up their children from school, or have immediate access to healthcare because they can’t afford the MTA’s steep prices. The report notes that about a quarter of low-income, working-age New Yorkers often can’t afford a metro card at all.</p><p>One solution suggested in the report is to cut transit costs in half for the working poor—those at or below the poverty threshold—so that a single ride costs around $1.35. With this program in place, an estimated 361,000 subway riders could save nearly $194 million a year, according to the report.</p><p>In New York, half-price fares are already available to seniors and qualifying disabled residents regardless of their economic status. Students in grades K-12 also receive unlimited metro passes at the beginning of each term. In addition, some New Yorkers enjoy pre-tax commuter benefits from their employers. Most low-income workers, however, don’t receive such benefits.</p><p>“We’re already giving tax breaks and discounts to lots of groups. Why not do it for those who are least able to afford [transportation]?” asks Nancy Rankin, a co-author of the report. It’s a question that’s on the minds of many New Yorkers these days: The report shows that two out of three New Yorkers support a half-priced fare program for the working poor.</p><p>The estimated cost of the program is $78 million for the first year and $194 million the year after, which Rankin sees as a reasonable goal. “In an $80 billion city budget, the city could probably find $200 million for this,” she says. As an alternative, the report includes suggestions like raising the state gas tax or extending the current <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/07/nyregion/cuomo-and-legislative-leaders-agree-on-tax-deal.html">millionaire’s tax</a><strong> </strong>to offset the costs.</p><p>Should New York decide to implement the program, the city would not be alone. Already, cities including Seattle, San Francisco, and London offer fare discounts to low-income or unemployed residents. Rankin says she is hopeful that New York will follow suit in the near future. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/nyc-pols-pushed-approve-metrocard-discount-poor-article-1.2595504">recently stated</a> that they “look forward to reviewing the report in greater detail."</p><p>In the meantime, high transit prices continue to hinder the upward mobility of low-income, working-class residents. The report’s authors hope that this<strong> </strong>discounted program will reverse this effect somewhat, allowing a greater number of New Yorkers to seek out jobs in higher-income areas. As Rankin puts it, “the turnstile should be the gateway, not the barrier, to economic opportunity.”</p><p><em><strong>*CORRECTION:</strong> This post has been updated. The 10 percent fare increase was made last year.</em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedKeith Bedford / ReutersThe Working Poor Can't Afford New York City Transit2016-04-13T11:21:00-04:002016-04-13T12:12:18-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-477762Discounted MetroCards would provide affordable transit access to those who need it the most.<p>In acknowledgement of <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/04/12/equal-pay-day-inequality-women-gender/82913078/">Equal Pay Day</a>—April 12, which marks how far into the new year women need to work to make as much as men earned in the previous year alone—President Obama has officially elevated D.C.’s Sewall-Belmont House and Museum to national monument status. Starting in 1929, the building served as the fifth headquarters for the National Woman’s Party, an organization historically dedicated to women’s suffrage. Since 1997, it has also served as a center for feminist education helping to inform citizens about issues of gender inequality. The announcement is a fitting one on Equal Pay Day, which also aims to educate the public about <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2016/04/12-gender-pay-gap-equality-and-beyond-sawhill?rssid=LatestFromBrookings">wage disparities<strong> </strong>in the U.S.</a></p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/02/how-gender-inequality-affects-southern-women-the-most/470880/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/02/South/lead_large.jpg?1456357327"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/02/how-gender-inequality-affects-southern-women-the-most/470880/?utm_source=feed">How Gender Inequality Affects Southern Women the Most </a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/work/2016/02/how-gender-inequality-affects-southern-women-the-most/470880/?utm_source=feed">Ahead of Super Tuesday, a new report points out troubling divides for women in 14 states. </a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>Inside the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, visitors can browse an extensive collection of documents and artifacts pertaining to the 20th-century women’s movement. The museum also boasts the nation’s first feminist library, The Florence Bayard Hilles Feminist Library, which holds over 2,000 books, magazines, and reference works, in addition to personal scrapbooks, voting cards, letters, and telegrams.</p><p>According to <em>The Washington Post</em>, the building’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/04/11/obama-to-designate-a-national-monument-in-d-c-to-honor-womens-equality-tuesday/">future renovations</a> will be aided by a generous $1 million contribution from D.C. billionaire David Rubenstein. The newspaper also reported that Google will be offering a virtual tour of the site for students to learn more about the building and its history.</p><p>At the heart of this history are two pioneering women: Alice Paul, the founder of the National Woman’s Party, and Alva Belmont, the party’s benefactor. Paul in particular was instrumental in the women’s rights movement, leading the first-ever picket at the White House, which lasted 10 months. Among many other notable accomplishments, Paul was also the original author of the 1923 <a href="http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/">Equal Rights Amendment</a> (which has still yet to be ratified by the necessary 38 U.S. states), and a key contributor to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote in the U.S.</p><figure class="left"><img alt="" height="410" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/SEWALL_BELMONT_HOUSE_NATL_H.S._WASHINGTON_D.C._1/ca8b414b3.jpg" width="280"><figcaption class="caption">The interior of the building, 1971. (<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:KLOTZ">Jerrye and Roy Klotz, M.D./Wikimedia Commons</a>)</figcaption></figure><p>“Today, the House tells the story of a century of courageous activism by American women,” the White House said in an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/12/presidential-proclamation-establishment-belmont-paul-womens-equality">official proclamation</a>. Although there are currently eight national parks that celebrate women’s history, only one other national monument—the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland—commemorates a female activist. The declaration of the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum as a national monument marks a concerted effort on behalf of the Obama Administration to recognize America’s previously silenced histories and historical figures.</p><p>While Paul was responsible for many social, cultural, and political advancements, in many ways, women are still continuing the fight that she set in motion nearly a century ago. Equal Pay Day is an important reminder that women in the U.S. still earn <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2016/04/12-gender-pay-gap-equality-and-beyond-sawhill?rssid=LatestFromBrookings">only 79 percent</a> of what men earn, as of 2015. The pay gap for women of color is <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/121530/women-color-make-far-less-78-cents-mans-dollar">even wider</a>.</p><p>Looking back at a quote from Paul in 1920, her call to action is perhaps more pertinent today than ever before:</p><blockquote>
<p>It is incredible to me that any woman should consider the fight for full equality won. It has just begun. There is hardly a field, economic or political, in which the natural and unaccustomed policy is not to ignore women … . Unless women are prepared to fight politically, they must be content to be ignored politically.</p>
</blockquote>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedAgnosticPreachersKid / Wikimedia CommonsAmerica's Newest Monument Celebrates Women's Activism2016-04-12T13:37:00-04:002016-04-12T15:31:35-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-477849President Obama has declared the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum a national monument on &ldquo;Equal Pay Day.&rdquo;<p>From <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/11/whos-really-cooking-your-seamless-and-grubhub-meals/415422/?utm_source=feed">Seamless</a> and GrubHub to <a href="https://maple.com/">Maple</a> and Blue Apron, cities certainly don’t suffer from a shortage of convenient—and cleverly named—food delivery services. But all that money you shell out for your beloved Pad See Ew or trio of street tacos each week can add up pretty quickly. While popular food delivery services are notoriously overpriced—and, in some cases, take a <a href="http://qz.com/182961/grubhub-and-seamless-take-a-13-5-cut-of-their-average-delivery-order/">nearly 14 percent</a> commission from the average order—a new service called <a href="https://mealpass.com/">MealPass</a> aims to offer a more affordable alternative.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/a-brief-history-of-the-sad-desk-lunch/406396/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/09/nypl.digitalcollections.510d47d9_a92d_a3d9_e040_e00a18064a99.001.w/lead_large.jpg?1442842246"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/a-brief-history-of-the-sad-desk-lunch/406396/?utm_source=feed">A Brief History of the Sad Desk Lunch</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/a-brief-history-of-the-sad-desk-lunch/406396/?utm_source=feed">You’re not alone, historically speaking.</a></p>
</aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>It works like this: for a starting fee of $99 per month, users can choose discounted meals at local restaurants and skip the lunchtime lines. (The company estimates that, all in, lunch on the plan will run you about $5 per workday.) Potential customers can enter their information online to be added to a waitlist. Should you sign up? We weighed some pros and cons:</p><h3>Reasons to buy</h3><p><strong>It helps you manage your time. </strong>Subscribers choose a 15-minute window to swing by the restaurant to pick up their orders. Then you can use the rest of your lunch break to catch up with co-workers, or, yes, to <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/a-brief-history-of-the-sad-desk-lunch/406396/?utm_source=feed">eat</a> <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/10/its-time-to-ditch-the-stigma-of-doing-things-alone/410467/?utm_source=feed">alone</a>. </p><p><strong>There’s no cash or card involved. </strong>Because MealPass is a pre-paid service, there’s no need to bring your wallet with you—just grab and go.</p><h3>Reasons to pass</h3><p><strong>Your food options are limited. </strong>Each of the participating restaurants offers just one option a day. So if you’re accustomed to purchasing your favorite hoagie at the deli down the street, chances are you’ll need to forgo your preference in favor of a pre-set item.</p><p><strong>You have to predict your whims. </strong>Subscribers also have to decide what they want for lunch by 9:30 a.m.—hours before those lunchtime cravings set in—to allow restaurants adequate time to prepare. Meal options are posted at 7 p.m. the night before, leaving only a brief window for you to schedule your pick-up.</p><p><strong>It’s not available in your city. </strong>Currently, MealPass is only available in Boston, Miami, and New York. (About 130 restaurants are signed up in NYC, and a few less in Boston and Miami.)<strong> </strong>But if it turns out to be as successful as its sister service, the exercise subscription ClassPass, chances are we’ll be seeing it in a number of cities very soon.</p><p><em>Top image: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-1064387p1.html?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">BluIz60</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/editorial?cr=00&amp;pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a></em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedBluIz60 / Shutterstock.comA New Way to Make Your Desk Lunch a Little Less Sad2016-04-05T11:05:00-04:002016-04-05T11:07:47-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-476487This new monthly service helps you beat the midday crowd.<p>With its extensive subway and rail systems and well-developed bike lanes, one would expect New York City to be something of a commuters’ paradise. But the reality is that the length of a New York City commute depends a great deal on where you live and work, and what kind of job you do, according to <a href="https://nycfuture.org/data/info/fast-city-slow-commute">a report</a> released Thursday by the Center for an Urban Future. The report, by senior researcher Adam Forman, takes a deep dive into the commuting patterns of New Yorkers based on where they live and work using data from the 2014 American Community Survey. Here are some of its most interesting findings.</p><h3>New Yorkers don’t travel all that far</h3><p>The chart below shows the commuting patterns both within and between New York City boroughs. Perhaps the most surprising discovery is that New Yorkers are more likely to commute to work in their own borough—despite the fact that Manhattan is still the city’s central hub of employment. Over in Queens, 41 percent of residents work in their home borough compared to 35 percent who work in Manhattan. The report finds a similar distribution in the Bronx (41 percent vs. 38 percent) and in Brooklyn (49 percent vs. 37 percent). Over in Staten Island, a whopping 52 percent of residents work in their home borough compared to a mere 22 percent who work in Manhattan.</p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="" height="736" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/04/Where_do_new_yorkers_work/25f90ef2e.png" width="600"><figcaption class="credit">Center for an Urban Future</figcaption></figure><p>Curiously enough, the neighborhoods with the closest proximity to transit and job centers have the highest shares of residents who work from home. About 4 percent of New York City’s working population now works from home (up 68 percent from 2000 to 2014). Of all five boroughs, the Bronx has seen the greatest increase in residents working in their home borough* in recent years (40 percent), followed by Brooklyn (37 percent) and Queens (28 percent).</p><p>Residents of Queens are also the most likely to work outside the city: 13 percent of Queens residents commute to places other than New York City, compared to 12 percent in the Bronx, 9 percent in Staten Island, 8 percent in Manhattan, and 6 percent in Brooklyn.</p><p>Of the top ten neighborhoods with the longest commutes, four are located in Brooklyn, another four in Queens, and two in the Bronx. Conversely, nine out of the top ten neighborhoods with the shortest commutes are located in Manhattan.</p><h3>Some New York City commuters are still car-dependent</h3><p>The map below shows the preferred method of transit across all 55 New York City neighborhoods covered by the U.S. Census. While the report finds that 59 percent of New Yorkers commute to work via mass transit, some neighborhoods are still heavily car-dependent. In ten out of the 55 neighborhoods, commuters depend on cars or taxis more than any other form of transportation. Of these ten neighborhoods, six are located in Queens, three in Staten Island, and one in the Bronx.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="520" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="https://nycfuture.cartodb.com/viz/8b9c7f46-f5bc-11e5-a5fe-0e31c9be1b51/embed_map" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe></p><p>There are six neighborhoods where over 20 percent of commuters walk or bike to work, five of which are located in Manhattan: Stuyvesant Town, Chelsea/Midtown, the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village/the Financial District, and the Upper East Side. Of the five neighborhoods with the highest shares of bike commuters, two are located in Manhattan (Lower East Side/Chinatown and Greenwich Village/the Financial District) and three are located in Brooklyn (North Crown Heights/Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Heights/Fort Greene, and Park Slope/Carroll Gardens)—although the shares of bike commuters in these neighborhoods are still no higher than 6 percent.</p><h3>Commuting varies by industry</h3><p>Although the majority of jobs in New York (79 percent) are filled by city residents, many workers still commute from outside the city. For all that’s been made of more affluent, educated workers moving back to the city to enjoy shorter commutes, the report finds that many workers in higher-paying industries and jobs live outside the city. For example, 38 percent of finance workers live outside city, as do 40 percent of utility workers and 30 percent of government workers. By contrast, workers in lower-paying service jobs are more likely to live in the city: 85 percent of retail and healthcare workers and 90 percent of food service workers live in the city.</p><p>Finance workers also have the longest commutes: an average of 51 minutes. The industry with the second-highest commute is construction (50 minutes), followed by public administration and manufacturing—each with 48-minute commutes.</p><p>Even workers with shorter commutes have to travel a while to get to their jobs. Workers in educational services may have the shortest commutes, but they are still left traveling for 40 minutes. Close behind are workers in real estate, as well as arts and entertainment, who travel for 41 minutes, and workers in retail, who travel for 42 minutes on average.</p><p>Overall, the report is an important reminder that even workers in dense, vibrant cities like New York with plenty of transit options often endure long commutes, and that more affluent workers still often choose to live outside the city.</p><p><em><strong>*CORRECTION:</strong> This post has been updated to clarify that the number of residents commuting to work in their home borough increased, not the number of residents working from home.</em></p>Richard Floridahttp://www.citylab.com/authors/richard-florida/?utm_source=feedAria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedJulio Cortez / AP ImagesThe Reality of New York City Commutes2016-04-01T11:10:02-04:002016-04-04T09:52:11-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-476475Despite its extensive transit systems, plenty of New Yorkers still endure long travel times.<p>For the most part, cures for jet lag are either uncertain or ineffective. Travelers can resort to <a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/how-coffee-screws-up-your-sleep-cycle/405658/?utm_source=feed">chugging cups of coffee</a> or imbibing some sort of <a href="http://fly1above.com/benefits.html#jetlag">weird nutritional drink</a>, but more often than not we’re saddled with the exhausting aftermath of a long day’s travel. But what if there was a way to prevent jet lag before its unfortunate onset?</p><p>A new plane from Airbus, a global design and manufacturing firm, claims to do just that. The Airbus A350 is installed with LED lights and an air control system that help to mitigate the effects of jet lag.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/12/congressman-suggests-ban-on-pay-to-pee-airline-policies/421077/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/12/Airplane_Bathroom_/lead_large.jpg?1450383790"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/12/congressman-suggests-ban-on-pay-to-pee-airline-policies/421077/?utm_source=feed">A Congressman Is Fighting for Your Right to Pee on Planes</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/12/congressman-suggests-ban-on-pay-to-pee-airline-policies/421077/?utm_source=feed">Should you have to pay to answer nature's call in the skies?</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>If it all sounds too good to be true, there’s plenty of science to back it up. On the most basic level, jet lag disrupts our circadian rhythms, or bodily clocks, as we enter a different time zone. Figuring out a way to stabilize our clocks could effectively reduce the chance of feeling groggy after a flight.</p><p>With this science in mind, the LED lights on the Airbus A350 produce 16.7 million shades of color that simulate different times of day. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/travel/a-battle-plan-for-jet-lag.html?_r=0">ideal amount of light exposure</a> depends on what time you take off and the direction in which you’re flying. In general, traveling east means that you should speed up your bodily clock by exposing yourself to light early on in the flight. But if you’re traveling west, you’ll need to delay your internal clock by basking in light throughout dusk and early evening.</p><p>No matter the destination, the main purpose of the LED lights is to ease passengers into a new time zone. (Since humans haven’t been switching time zones for very long, we aren’t yet able to adapt quickly.) Of course, passengers will still have to acclimate to a new time zone when they land, but <a href="http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/understand-travel-fatigue-and-jet-lag">it’s easier to do so</a> once they’re exposed to natural light.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/TAMAirlines">@TAMAirlines</a> Airbus <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/A350?src=hash">#A350</a> XWB <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PaxEx?src=hash">#PaxEx</a> advantage Over #787 is shown to great effect in Y cabin. <a href="https://t.co/9BKPQf8FdA">pic.twitter.com/9BKPQf8FdA</a></p>
— Airways Magazine (@airwaysmagazine) <a href="https://twitter.com/airwaysmagazine/status/710708467321987072">March 18, 2016</a></blockquote><p>Circadian rhythms also influence our natural body temperatures, which can take even longer than sleep patterns to adjust to a new time zone. To help with this, the plane’s air control system renews the air every two minutes and maintains a consistent temperature throughout the cabin.</p><p>Right now, you can hop on an Airbus A350 by purchasing specific luxury flights hosted by five airlines—Qatar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Finnair, Singapore Airlines, and TAM Airlines in Brazil. Additional airlines have placed orders as well, though the flights are not yet available. By the end of February, Airbus had already received a total of 777 orders for Airbus A350s.</p><p>The concept has also received favorable reviews from passengers. Earlier this month, a writer for <em>Condé Nast Traveler </em><a href="http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-03-04/this-new-plane-could-end-jet-lag-for-good?mbid=social_twitter">described her experience</a> trying out the Airbus A350 on Singapore Airlines:</p><blockquote>
<p>I was on its first flight this week, a journey of 12 hours from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France to Singapore and can report that I functioned like a normal human being after arrival, free from that general yucky feeling you get after being on an airplane for half a day—and I'd do it again tomorrow.</p>
</blockquote><p>At least jet lag won’t stand in her way.</p><p><em>Top image: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-312982p1.html">Alex Brylov</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock.com</a></em></p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedAlex Brylov / Shutterstock.comThis New Airplane Technology Could Finally Prevent Jet Lag2016-03-23T12:21:00-04:002016-03-23T12:27:20-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-474933LED lights might be the artificial key to preserving our bodily rhythms.<p>We know that working women today still face a fair amount of discrimination. A <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/19/2486721/about-a-third-of-women-have-experienced-discrimination-in-the-workplace/">2013 survey</a> found that 28 percent of women in the U.S. have experienced discrimination in the workplace at one point or another. Naturally, the data varies by industry and the nature of work involved.</p><p>A new study by the sociologist David Pedulla, at the University of Texas at Austin, hones in on the effect that working part-time can have on women looking to secure future employment. What Pedulla found is that potential employers may penalize men for having previously worked part-time, without ascribing any of the same penalties to women.</p><p>The explanation for this disparity is not as simple as companies favoring one gender over another. In fact, the study theorizes<strong> </strong>that a distinctly sexist attitude toward women may be<strong> </strong>at the heart of the effect.</p><h3>The experiment</h3><p>Pedulla began his experiment by submitting 2,420 fake job applications for 1,210 real job openings across five cities: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and L.A. In addition to the fact that they are all major U.S. labor markets, Pedulla says he chose these cities based on their varying geographies and levels of unemployment.</p><p>His applications, on the other hand, varied very little from one another. Each fictitious applicant was said to have graduated from one of two comparatively ranked public universities in the Midwest, followed by six years of professional experience. The main differences came down to the applicants’ most recent jobs, which Pedulla diversified to reflect a year of unemployment, temp positions, full-time or part-time work, or jobs below the applicant’s skill level.</p><p>After submitting the applications, Pedulla tracked the number of callbacks he received via phone or email. When it came to employees who were previously employed full-time, both male and female applicants received an equal number of callbacks (10.4 percent). But in every other category of employment, from unemployment to part-time work, women received more callbacks than men. The most marked disparity overall was for applicants whose last job was part-time. In this scenario, women received a 10.9 percent callback rate compared to 4.8 percent for men.</p><figure><img alt="" height="276" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/Pedulla_Study/51862d0af.png" width="620"><figcaption class="credit">David Pedulla</figcaption></figure><p>Taken at face value, the data seems to suggest that women have a significant advantage over men when it comes to a history of part-time or temporary work. Indeed, Pedulla finds that, for men, “part-time work is penalizing because employers see it as representing a lower level of commitment.”</p><h3>A potential bias</h3><p>Of course, both male and female applications<strong> </strong>submitted by Pedulla demonstrated roughly the same level of commitment, seeing as they<strong> </strong>were designed to resemble one another. So how is it that employers in these five cities still saw male applicants as less committed? Pedulla posits an interesting theory:</p><blockquote>
<p>Part-time work and temporary agency employment arose in the U.S. economy as heavily feminized types of work … Employers might perceive nonstandard employment histories as a common experience for women. … For men, by contrast, employers may take such a history as a signal that the male worker was unable to find a full-time, standard job.</p>
</blockquote><p>In other words, it may not be the case that women with part-time positions are perceived as more committed than men. On the contrary, it is quite likely that they are not penalized for part-time work because they are expected<em> </em>to be part-time employees. Pedulla notes that he is not able to support this theory empirically. Nevertheless, it offers an interesting explanation as to why men might be penalized in all categories except full-time employment.</p><h3>Data by industry</h3><p>The nature of a job itself, of course, might influence these results. To test for this, Pedulla filtered the data across multiple part-time occupations typically associated with male or female work. While his results were not statistically significant, they again revealed that women received more callbacks than men—regardless of the gendered nature of a given profession. In fact, women received the highest callback rate (18.6 percent) for sales jobs, which are now <a href="http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm">fairly evenly divided</a> between men and women.</p><figure><img alt="" height="290" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/Pedulla_Study_2/3ce278873.png" width="620"><figcaption class="credit">David Pedulla</figcaption></figure><p>While it’s certainly refreshing to see an area of the workforce where women are not penalized by their potential employers, this study is not cause for celebration. Further research is necessary to determine if hidden biases or an inherent association of women with less favorable, part-time work are actually driving these effects.</p><p>Pedulla also stresses the need to address factors like race, age, and geography in future studies of part-time employment. Nevertheless, his findings reveal a stark inconsistency in the way that women are perceived by potential employers compared to men.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedREUTERS/Kacper PempelThe Gendered Effects of Part-Time Work2016-03-14T14:14:52-04:002016-03-14T14:14:52-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-473091Men are more likely to be penalized for working part-time than women. But the reason for this advantage may still be rooted in sexism.<p>Just as you’re about to leave for work, a pipe bursts in your home, or the toilet gets clogged, or the dishwater overflows. Suddenly, you’re faced with the frustrating task of tracking down a repairperson and waiting hours for him or her to arrive—and even<strong> </strong>then, you might get charged far more than the initial estimate.</p><p>The new app <a href="http://www.clipcall.it/pro/">ClipCall</a>, designed to connect users with local service professionals, aims to help home repair catch up to the digital age. Users upload a short video of the problem and the app circulates the query to professionals, who offer a quote.</p><p>“A picture is worth 1,000 words, and a video is 1,000 pictures a second, so that’s the best medium to collaborate,” says ClipCall’s CEO Daniel Shaked.</p><p>Backed by an accelerator program in the Silicon Valley, Shaked’s team has spent the last year developing a way to personalize the home repair process. “Every job is different by nature,” he tells CityLab. “It’s not a commodity. It’s not a product with a serial number. Everyone has a very special need.”</p><p>In fact, many customers have trouble diagnosing their own home repair issues, let alone finding<strong> </strong>the right person for the job. “A lot of customers will call in and say, ‘Hey I need to have my locks changed,’ when in fact they really need to have their locks re-keyed,” says Samuel Wilson, the president of <a href="https://1800unlocks.com/">1-800-UNLOCKS</a>, a locksmith service that works with ClipCall.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tU4OWF4EzHw" width="560"></iframe></p><p>An important feature of the app is that users are only charged once a transaction has been completed. ClipCall also aggregates reviews from sites like Yelp and Google’s Local Guides to help customers make a more informed decision. (Once the app achieves a sufficient level of user engagement, their team plans to implement a rating system of their own.)</p><p>But an app like ClipCall also allows service professionals to assume greater control of their business. According to Shaked, most of these service workers are “very much offline people.” Even those who are tech-savvy still rely on pictures or a brief phone conversation to determine the necessary repairs. A video-based app streamlines this process by allowing workers to assess the problem in real-time without having to go<strong> </strong>online.</p><p>“It empowers the service pro to be a better businessman,” says Wilson. Although he acknowledges that many locksmiths are “old-school” when it comes to technology, Wilson predicts that most industry professionals will have to get on board with the idea or be left behind.</p><p><em>ClipCall app, free <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clipcall-hire-local-professionals/id1014454741?mt=8">at the app store</a>.</em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedYouTubeIs Video Messaging the Future of Home Repair?2016-03-14T13:21:00-04:002016-03-14T14:29:33-04:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-473358A new app lets you chat with your local handyman or plumber in real-time.<p>When it comes to earthquake preparedness, the U.S. is surprisingly behind the times. Despite the fact that <a href="http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/nearly-half-of-americans-exposed-to-potentially-damaging-earthquakes/">nearly half of all Americans</a> are susceptible to potentially damaging earthquakes, the country is ill-prepared to sustain a tremor of the magnitude that scientists have warned about. Kathryn Schulz of <em>The New Yorker</em> <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one">recently reported</a> that the odds of a disastrous earthquake occurring in the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years are about one in three.</p><p>If such an earthquake were to strike, the Federal Emergency Management Agency predicts that nearly 13,000 lives would be at stake. The map below shows the potential hazard for regions around the country over this 50-year time span. Note the frightening swath of red along the West Coast, which corresponds to a nine or above on the <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mag_vs_int.php">Mercalli scale</a> of earthquake intensity—an indicator of violent-to-extreme damage.</p><figure class="full-width"><img alt="" height="664" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/USGS_Map/5b3ed62ea.jpg" width="940"><figcaption class="credit">U.S. Geological Survey</figcaption></figure><p>A critical component of preparing citizens for potential disasters is a so-called “early earthquake warning system.” While many countries including <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/24366012?mag=before-the-quake&amp;seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents">Japan, Mexico, and Romania</a> already rely on such systems, the U.S. has been slow to implement this technology. But for the past 10 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (along with institutions like the California Institute of Technology, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the University of Oregon) has been developing an early warning system that would operate in high-risk states on the West Coast.</p><p>In February, at the first-ever White House Earthquake Resilience Summit, officials and researchers announced that one of the most promising seismic alert tools would be moved into beta testing—a system called ShakeAlert. The system provides residents with an earthquake warning of a few seconds to around 30 seconds, depending on the magnitude and their distance from the epicenter, so they have time to prepare.</p><p>In areas along the San Andreas fault in California, for instance, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgFbLpUXep8">the best-case scenario</a> would allow for a minute to a minute-and-a-half of preparation. In the Cascadia subduction zone in the Pacific Northwest, a warning could be issued up to five minutes in advance of a quake. Jennifer Strauss, the chair of the education and training committee for ShakeAlert at Berkeley, says the tool is especially critical for dense urban communities in San Francisco and Cascadia that are vulnerable to seismic damage but far enough from epicenters to take advantage of a warning.</p><p>“Those are the populations and the infrastructure that have the highest hazard and most costly impact,” she says.</p><h3>How it works</h3><p>When an earthquake begins, ShakeAlert is able to detect what are known as P-waves, or compressional waves—the first seismic waves to arrive on the scene and rarely the source of any damage. This detection is made possible at the moment thanks to the <a href="http://www.cisn.org/">California Integrated Seismic Network</a>, which consists of 400 high-quality ground-motion sensors.</p><p>Once the detection has been made, ShakeAlert sends signals to a computer system, or “earthquake alert center,” at <a href="http://seismo.berkeley.edu/research/early_warning.html">the speed of light</a>. The alert center then sends a message to a user’s computer or mobile phone with the magnitude and location of the earthquake, as well as how much time remains before S-waves (or shear waves) will arrive. These S-waves are responsible for the shaking motion one experiences during an earthquake. Since they are slower than P-waves, S-waves allow for a brief period of time during which the system can warn residents of impending danger.</p><p>The following image shows what a ShakeAlert message might look like to the public. The message includes a map denoting the epicenter of the earthquake, as well as the magnitude and location of P- and S-waves.</p><div style="text-align:center">
<figure style="display: inline-block;"><img alt="" height="473" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/shakealert_top/acb50229f.jpg" width="464"><figcaption class="credit"><a href="http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2014/3083/pdf/fs2014-3083.pdf">U.S. Geological Survey</a></figcaption></figure></div><p>In theory, messages like this would give people enough time to take cover, medical professionals enough time to suspend their operations, and emergency responders enough time to react to the crisis. However short it may seem, a seconds-long warning might also allow the government to shut down transportation networks and other vital forms of infrastructure like gas and electric supply lines.</p><p>Already, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system has partnered with the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory to gain access to ShakeAlert technology. Thanks to this partnership, BART trains now <a href="http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2012/news20120927">stop automatically</a> when the system detects shaking at remote sensors, giving the train more time to slow down in the event of an earthquake. Thomas Heaton, the principal investigator of the ShakeAlert project at Cal Tech, says many other government agencies use this system as well.</p><h3>Challenges to mass distribution</h3><p>So what’s stopping the U.S. Geological Survey from rolling out their project on a public scale? The answer, in short, is lack of funding. Although Heaton contends that the U.S. “is probably in the lead” in terms of early earthquake warning system research, ShakeAlert is not yet ready for public consumption.</p><p>“I think all of us recognize that the current system, although much further along than it was five years ago, is still sub-optimal,” Heaton tells CityLab. “It may create more problems than it’s worth if we released all of our raw information to the public at the moment.”</p><p>Strauss echoes this sentiment. Although she contends that the project could go public about 18-24 months after full funding is achieved, the Berkeley team is intent on making sure that ShakeAlert “has consistent funding to be up and running in perpetuity.”</p><p><span style="font-family: Oxygen, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.52941;">As of 2015, the USGS estimates that it will cost $38.3 million in capital funding to roll out the system on the West Coast, and another $16.1 million per year to keep it running. But as concern over earthquake preparedness continues to mount, ShakeAlert is getting closer and closer to achieving its goal. In December, President Obama included an $8 million allotment for an early warning system in his 2017 presidential budget plan, and Congress has </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-earthquake-early-warning-system-democrats-story.html" style="font-family: Oxygen, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.52941;">already approved a $10 million budget</a><span style="font-family: Oxygen, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.52941;"> for the project.</span></p><p>With the government expressing continued interest, researchers have big plans for ShakeAlert’s eventual application. “The intent is that there will be a plethora of apps that you can download to get the warning when this becomes a public system,” said Richard Allen, the Director of Berkeley’s Seismological Laboratory, at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgFbLpUXep8">the recent White House summit</a>. Allen also expressed a desire to connect this technology with TV, radio, and home-security systems.</p><p>The question, then, is not if<em> </em>ShakeAlert will be made, but whether it will be available in time for the next “big one.” When posed with this question, Heaton laughs: “Certainly, in 50 years, it better be developed by then.”</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedLucas Jackson / REUTERSWarning the West Coast About the Next Big Earthquake2016-03-07T16:18:46-05:002016-03-07T16:18:46-05:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-472227After nearly a decade of development, the ShakeAlert system could give people in vulnerable seismic areas some critical advanced notice.<p>After more than 14 years, the wait for government compensation is over for a number of first responders suffering from 9/11-related illnesses. On Tuesday, officials announced that a group of payments totaling more than $233.4 million were being delivered to more than 1,000 firefighters, police, and emergency personnel. “We have shifted more staff to focus on payments and I am proud we exceeded our first interim target,” said Sheila Birnbaum, the special master of the <a href="http://www.vcf.gov/genProgramInfo.html">Victim Compensation Fund</a>, in <a href="http://www.vcf.gov/groupaupdatemar2016.html">a statement on the fund’s site</a>.</p><!-- START "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX v2.0 --><aside class="callout related"><hr><h4 class="module-tag">Related Story</h4>
<figure><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed"><img alt="" src="http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2015/09/Peter_Morgan/lead_large.jpg?1441383452"></a></figure><h4 class="hed"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed">14 Years Later, Here's What We Know About 9/11 and Cancer</a></h4>
<p class="dek"><a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed">The link has become increasingly clear—just as victim funding is set to expire.</a></p>
<hr></aside><!-- END "RELATED STORY" SINGLE STORY BOX --><p>These payments were made possible thanks to the December reauthorization of the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/pdfs/NIOSH-226/0226-010510-act.pdf">James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act</a>. Although parts of the Zadroga Act <a href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/09/14-years-later-heres-what-we-know-about-911-and-cancer/403888/?utm_source=feed">expired on September 30</a>, renewal from Congress stalled for some months. Despite adamant support on behalf of officials like Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio, certain members of Congress, including presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-firefighters_us_56b2a2b1e4b08069c7a615c6">opposed the decision</a>. Nevertheless, the act, which provides necessary health care services and compensation for 9/11 survivors and first responders, received a strong vote from the House of Representatives—316 to 113 in favor of its continuation for another 75 years (although the victim fund itself only received a five-year extension).</p><p>Moving forward, the Victim Compensation Fund announced that additional payments would be authorized “in each successive month until all Group A payments have been made.” According to the <a href="http://www.vcf.gov/pdf/timeline.pdf">fund’s timeline</a>, this process is scheduled to be completed by August of this year. At that time, the fund will start to make decisions on a second group of payments (“Group B”), which will likely be rolled out in September or October. (“Group A” refers to payments that were decided prior to December 18, 2015, while “Group B” encompasses claims that were received but not decided prior to that date, and are subject to new jurisdictions per the reauthorization act.)</p><p>While this timeline is a welcome advancement in the process of securing victim compensation, it comes at a time when <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/zadroga-act-reauthorization-finally-passes-congress-article-1.2470110">a reported 33,000 survivors and first responders</a> have already been diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses and only 114 cancer claimants have been awarded funding as of 2014. And this doesn’t even include those who could potentially contract cancers and other diseases further down the road. Fortunately, with the Zadroga Act scheduled to continue for another 75 years, there is far more hope for their improved health and continued survival.</p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedGary Cameron / REUTERSLegislative Director of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Richard Alles stands alongside Zadroga Act supporters John Stewart and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.9/11 First Responders Are Finally Receiving Due Compensation2016-03-03T15:36:45-05:002016-03-03T15:36:45-05:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-472137The Victim Compensation Fund rolled out initial payments on Tuesday, with more scheduled in the coming months.<p>Boston, like many other cities, has a litter problem. But it recently rolled out an initiative to manage the disposal of cigarette butts—<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4307979/">the most common form of litter</a> worldwide.</p><p>In addition to their obvious health hazards (smoking is still the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-states.html">leading cause</a> of preventable death in the U.S.), cigarettes pose a serious environmental hazard if left lying on the street. Not only do discarded cigarette butts attract harmful bacteria and threaten nearby plants and animals, but they can also take up to ten years to decompose.</p><p>Already, the city of Boston has made significant efforts to reduce smoking in public areas. Starting in 2003, the city banned smoking in indoor workplaces, followed by a ban on selling cigarettes in pharmacies and on college campuses in 2008. Four years later, the city also banned smoking in public housing, and in 2014, smoking was officially banned in Boston’s public parks.</p><p>In addition to <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/06/11/history-smoking-bans-massachusetts/icEET9CoFLZNkwSRJ27DmI/story.html">$100-300 fines</a> for violating these bans, residents can be charged with up to 30 days in jail for tossing cigarette butts out of their car windows, according to Massachusetts state law. And yet even with all of these regulations in place, discarded cigarette butts continue to litter Boston’s streets.<strong> </strong></p><p>That’s where the “Neat Streets” initiative comes in. On <a href="https://twitter.com/marty_walsh/status/704353356182065152">Monday</a>, Boston’s new municipal program installed five receptacles in the city’s high-foot-traffic corridors. But, unlike your average trash can, these receptacles attempt to turn the stub disposal process into something of a game.</p><p>On the front of each bright red box, the city has included a question with two possible answers. Residents can use their butts to cast a vote for their superpower of choice (invisibility or flight) or choose the quality most valued in a friend (loyalty or humor). Other questions range from sports-related topics to guessing the amount of snow Boston will receive this year.</p><figure><img alt="" height="413" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/Neat_Streets/9a88afe94.jpg" width="620"><figcaption class="credit">City of Boston</figcaption></figure><p>The initial design inspiration came from <a href="https://www.hubbub.org.uk/neat-streets">a London initiative of the same name</a>, which distributed its own “ballot bins” throughout the city. Thanks to the success of the project, the parent company, Hubbub, now sells the bins for customers to purchase (they can even personalize their color and questions).</p><p>But according to Atma Khalsa, Managing Director of <a href="http://www.dangerawesome.com/">danger!awesome</a>, the 3D printing start-up that designed the Boston boxes, the Boston project was executed “entirely from scratch without having any designs or input from London.” After being approached by the city of Boston, Khalsa worked with them over the course of several months to develop a series of prototypes. During this time, the city even tested one of the initial prototypes by having it torched by the fire department.</p><p>In the end, Khalsa was tasked with creating five boxes for the launch, with the option to produce more if the initiative is successful. (The production process is outlined in the video below.) Working with the city, she says, has opened her eyes to the extent of their of civic engagement. “I love how ready the city is to do interesting, fun things in order to solve these problems,” Khalsa tells CityLab.</p><p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/phEuR4vLyWA" width="560"></iframe></p><p>Indeed, by making the disposal process interactive, the city hopes that residents and tourists will be encouraged to protect their surrounding environment. But an initiative like this also stands to save the city a good deal of money. Most of danger!awesome’s projects cost around $100-200 per item to manufacture; in contrast, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently allotted a <a href="http://www.ecori.org/pollution-contamination/2015/11/24/roadside-litter-piling-up-give-a-hoot-dont-pollute">$1.3 million annual budget</a> for picking up trash off its streets.</p><p>Of course, cigarette butts are just one of the many problems that cities have to address when designing their clean-up efforts. But the more people dispose of their cigarette butts in trash bins or “Neat Streets” receptacles, the less disgusting sidewalks will be for everyone.</p><p><em>Top image: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-3844109p1.html">ibahnun</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock.com</a></em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedibahnun / Shutterstock.comBoston's Playful New Campaign to Get Smokers to Stop Littering2016-03-02T18:34:00-05:002016-03-02T18:34:37-05:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-471900The city&rsquo;s &ldquo;Neat Streets&rdquo; initiative encourages residents to answer poll questions using their discarded cigarette butts.<p>Long before airports relied on digital technology to transport luggage around the world, graphic design was the easiest way to signal where a bag needed to go. Unlike today’s drab pieces of paper, the luggage tags of years past were colorful and vibrant—in addition to serving their more practical purpose.</p><figure class="left"><img alt="" height="323" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/03/146aa6d52/a9b5a89a9.jpg" width="243"><figcaption class="credit">(Design Ideas, Ltd.)</figcaption></figure><p>The home goods retailer <a href="http://shop.designideas.net/">Design Ideas</a> recently turned to these tags for inspiration when designing a new collection of organization-minded travel accessories. The collection’s ID<strong> </strong>holders feature bold graphics corresponding to three major airports—London (LHR), Paris (CDG), and New York (JFK)—and call to mind a time when flying was as glamorous as it was efficient.</p><p>The design pairs the functionality of an ID holder thin enough to fit in your pocket or purse with the visual appeal of vintage luggage tags—“a throwback to this era in which clean, bold design served more than just an aesthetic purpose,” the brand’s website proclaims.</p><p>Drawing upon the same concept, the collection also includes a set of folio pouches (below) that can store everything from makeup to small electronics.</p><div style="text-align:center">
<figure style="display: inline-block;"><img alt="" height="570" src="https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/posts/2016/02/POUCHES_BEST_ONE-1/8106335db.jpg" width="570"><figcaption class="credit">Design Ideas, Ltd.</figcaption></figure></div><p><em>ID case and pouches, $7-$9 each at <a href="http://shop.designideas.net/">Design Ideas</a>.</em></p>Aria Bendixhttp://www.citylab.com/authors/aria-bendix/?utm_source=feedDesign Ideas, Ltd.Get Organized With Travel Goods Inspired by Vintage Luggage Tags 2016-03-01T15:50:00-05:002016-03-01T15:51:35-05:00tag:citylab.com,2016:209-471411These throwback ID cases and folio pouches will help you swoop through security.